Election update: Clean water wins big in key ballot measures
Recent clean water ballot measure victories show how communities are investing in healthier rivers, safer drinking water, and stronger protections
The midterm election showed that voters are clamoring for practical solutions to their communities’ problems. So, while some of the results were a surprise, it is no surprise that voters approved nearly a billion dollars for clean water and healthy rivers on election day, demonstrating once again that water is a powerful unifying value with strong bipartisan support.
Action for water has taken on new urgency in recent years, as pollution threatens drinking water sources, infrastructure is crumbling nationwide, and communities are at risk of weather extremes from flooding to water scarcity.
This November, the American Rivers Action Fund supported five ballot measures to advance solutions at the local and state level:
In Arkansas, voters across the state approved Issue 4, authorizing a $500 million bond to provide critical funding to upgrade or build new clean water infrastructure for communities and agriculture. Other supporters of the measure include the Arkansas Farm Bureau, Arkansas Water and Wastewater Managers Association, Agricultural Council of Arkansas, and The Nature Conservancy, among many others.
In Massachusetts, the Action Fund supported the statewide Yes on 6 campaign to redirect an existing tax on sporting goods into conservation programs and projects, including those working for clean, safe, reliable drinking water, floodplain and river restoration, and open space. We partnered with Massachusetts Audubon, The Nature Conservancy, and Trust for Public Lands among a wide array of local conservation and land trust organizations to support this measure.
The American Rivers Action Fund also supported two county measures where water was on the ballot. In Dubuque County, Iowa, voters strongly approved a measure to provide $18 million for floodplain restoration, agricultural clean water projects, and riverside open space along the Mississippi River. We worked with the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation, numerous land trusts, and Dubuque County to promote this important initiative in a rural county. And in Delaware County, Pennsylvania the Action Fund supported partners including Natural Lands, Trust for Public Lands, and others in passing an initiative to provide a $120 million dollar bonding authority to protect the water, natural areas, and wildlife across a county with increasingly urgent development pressure.
Similarly in Colorado, the Action Fund supported Proposition 137, which also will redirect a previously established tax on sporting goods into conservation purposes, including healthy rivers, wildfire prevention, and wildfire-ready watersheds. At the time of this blog, the votes are still being counted in Colorado, and remains too close to call. Other supporters included The Nature Conservancy, Western Resource Advocates, Trust for Public Lands, and many others.
What recent clean water ballot wins tell us about the future
This latest round of successes builds on recent momentum. In July, Texas voters approved Proposition 4, with a record $20B for water over the next 20 years – the largest statewide ballot initiative to be passed in the country – was led by the National Wildlife Federation, Environmental Defense Fund, and others. And this past August, voters in Missouri overwhelmingly approved a measure to renew the state’s constitutional fund for state parks, agricultural water conservation programs, and healthy rivers and floodplains. The measure was backed by financial and communications support by the American Rivers Action Fund and won with over 82% approval statewide. Partners included the Missouri Farm Bureau, Trust for Public Lands, hunting and sporting groups, and land trusts and State Parks organizations across the state.
“Families feel the consequences when their water isn’t safe and their rivers aren’t healthy,” said Heather Taylor-Miesle, Executive Director of the American Rivers Action Fund. “They feel it in their pocketbooks, they worry about the safety of the water their kids are drinking, and they’re tired of mucking out their basements when it floods. These latest ballot wins prove that voters want real action. Nationwide, we’re seeing a growing wave of momentum across the political spectrum demanding clean water and healthy rivers. When water is on the ballot, water wins.”
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