Billions to divert San Joaquin river water under the Sacramento River is highway robbery.

The federal government has contracted the Sacramento River water to Central Valley farms, so the Southern California swimming pools must be filled with San Joaquin River water, expensively moved under the Sacramento River. This is another attempted hijacking of our water.

This would devastate the delta, as the fresh water influx into San Francisco Bay would be extremely diminished.

The salt water would reach higher into the delta, rendering thousands of acres of prime farmland worthless.

Also, the money would be much better spent on education. Money spent of education multiplies. Somewhat like the Malthusian Theorem, knowledge invested in our people’s intellectual piggy bank increases exponentially.

Education makes people more employable, thus less likely to commit crimes and brings the level of civility and empathy up for everyone a more enjoyable environment.

I think Southern Californians could stop watering lawns, washing cars and pay a surtax on swimming pools. Perhaps a surtax would help pay for a desalination plant such as the one being built in San Diego.

I realize two-thirds of the voters reside in Southern California, but dams, tunnels and Northern California water will never keep up with the population explosion in our deserts.

Desalinization is the answer, combine that with a little “Yankee ingenuity” and tax money could be spent on a final solution without harming the Northern California environment.

Dave Gebhard lives in Lakeport, Calif.