American Rivers' President, Rebecca Wodder, sent this letter to the editor of the San Francisco Chronicle regarding the major sewage spills in the Bay that appeared in today's paper.

Editor - Regarding "State EPA chief seeks probe of two sewage spills in Marin" (Jan. 7): The Richardson Bay sewage spill is just a drop in the bucket. Billions of gallons of raw and partially treated sewage pour into California's waters every year.

Keep in mind it takes only about 200,000 gallons to fill an Olympic-sized swimming pool. Our water infrastructure is broken and unless proactive steps are taken, things will get worse.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, California needs $20 billion to address the problems. President Bush has offered up only $555 million for such projects - for the entire country.

As chairwoman of the Environment and Public Works Committee, Sen. Barbara Boxer is thankfully drafting legislation to increase that funding. Studies have shown such public works projects can be great for the economy, too, creating 47,000 new jobs for every billion spent.

We can stretch those dollars even further with smart storm water management techniques such as rain gardens, permeable surfaces and by protecting our wetlands. These proven approaches capture rainwater before it becomes a problem, instead of allowing it to overwhelm the system and threaten public health and safety.

We deserve clean water - and smarter investments. I encourage Californians to work with Sen. Boxer to pass water infrastructure legislation that reflects 21st century solutions.

REBECCA WODDER
President, American Rivers
Washington, D.C.