Voters in California’s Santa Clarita Valley Sanitation District approved Measure S on Nov. 4, which calls for the removal of “salt-based” self-regenerating water softeners from district homes.
The vote, with 63.93% of residents’ support, according to the local newspaper The Signal, comes only weeks after California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed Assembly Bill 2270, which would have given local and regional water agencies more power to remove water softeners.
In support of Measure S, the county sanitation district argued that getting rid of existing softeners would reduce the amount of salt that ends up in the Santa Clara River, The Signal reported.
Supporters also said that if the measure didn't pass, Santa Clarita Valley water consumers could end up paying for construction of a costly desalination plant in response to state mandates to reduce salt levels in the river.
"I voted ‘yes' [to the measure] because I've actually done that," resident Michael Ballard told The Signal. "We've given them all sorts of encouragement," he said about water softener owners. "We offered them the carrot, now it's time for the stick."
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