An excellent editorial about it.
Water crisis looming
Contra Costa Times
Article Launched:09/21/2007 03:07:04 AM PDT
FOR TOO LONG, California has been unwilling to develop a comprehensive, long-term water-resource plan, and to build the infrastructure necessary to provide a dependable source of water for the future.
Now the state is facing a huge challenge with a growing population, court-ordered reduction in water pumping, a threatened Delta environment, and the possibility of a drought. This is no time for delays and protracted political battles that lead to no results.
That is why Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is proposing a $9 billion bond measure to construct two new dams, expand the Los Vaqueros Reservoir, improve the Delta environment and pay for conservation. Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata, D-Oakland, has a less ambitious plan, but is willing to work with the governor. Perata, like Schwarzenegger, understands the urgency of the situation.
He said, "Now we have a gun muzzle at out temple; unless we take swift action for immediate relief, the court will effectively cut water as much as 60 percent to millions of California consumers and thousands of businesses."
The governor wants to spend $5.1 billion to build two dams, one at Sites Reservoir in Colusa County and another at Temperance Flat, a dam on the San Joaquin River east of Fresno. His plan also seeks $1.9 billion for Delta restoration and an unspecified amount to expand Los Vaqueros.
Republicans in the Legislature are not likely to endorse any plan that does not include the two dams. Democrats are wary of building dams, but could be persuaded to support the idea if agricultural and regional interests come up with more money to help pay for the projects.
Certainly, the large agribusinesses in the Central Valley and elsewhere, which use most of the state's water, should be willing to pay more of their share. They are the ones most likely to lose if water supplies are diminished by court order and drought.
Greater water conservation, particularly by agriculture and underground storage, should be included in any long-range water plan. But there is no escaping the need for new reservoirs, which can provide water for environmental purposes as well as farms and urban users.
