Re: your April 4 article, “County and cities cringe at proposed water rules":

It seems quite amazing that now, after decades of procrastinating and pooh-poohing the environmentalist, the government finally proposes strict rules for management of runoff in order to protect our most important resource: water. Yet, we seem to have a plethora of nonthinking folks in our county who take umbrage at this.

They say the new rules are counterproductive, could hurt present plans to clean up water pollution, would be prohibitively expensive, would take control away from local districts, would lower standards for grading during the storm season and would probably embolden the terrorists. (The last is my own addition.)

How could anybody with any common sense say trying to improve our water quality would be expensive? The other alternative would be to go on our merry way until all water sources are polluted beyond redemption. Water is a nonrenewable source. The amount we have on this planet now is the same amount that has always been here and will be the same amount as far into the future as you may want to go.

If we continue polluting the water, we will affect all life on this planet, equivalent to the mess we have now with the global warming. We were warned for years we were polluting the atmosphere. Did we do anything? No.

These folks who are adamantly against the new rules are using the same tactics that the Bush administration has been using, spinning the truth and trying to frighten the general public. Our beaches are so polluted, it is dangerous to go into the water.

Remember, if we screw up the water we have now, we ain't gonna get no more.

— Rellis Smith, Ventura