We agree, there is much left to do to stabilize the water situation regarding supply and flood issues, requiring more work from legislative leaders than currently proposed, and allowing sound planning rather than ideology to determine that direction is a hoped for strategy.
Editorial: Two water proposals in need of improvement
Plans from Schwarzenegger and Perata fall short on priorities, fiscal responsibility
Published 12:00 am PDT Friday, July 20, 2007
There's an old African proverb that states: "Only a fool tests the depth of the water with two feet." Apparently, neither Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger nor Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata knows of that proverb. Both have jumped feet-first into the crocodile-filled pond of state water politics by promoting multibillion-dollar packages for a 2008 ballot.
Some might call this leadership. Some might call this a cynical attempt to win Republican votes for a budget compromise. Whatever the motivation, there's little doubt that California faces major water challenges. The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta is in crisis. The meager snowpack of the past winter offers a foreboding backdrop for a recent state report that California will grow to 60 million people by 2050.
Unfortunately, neither Schwarzenegger nor Perata has yet offered proposals that set clear priorities or offer sufficient details.
