Good leadership is being shown, and one hopes the results flowing from it remove the long-term taboo on the public discussion of building dams which has clogged up the state’s capability to develop a water supply congruent with its growing stature.
Governor's pitch for new dams faces resistance in Legislature
By Michael Gardner
COPLEY NEWS SERVICE
October 8, 2007
SACRAMENTO – Victor Lopez remembers walking door to door, imploring residents of Orange Cove to use just 7 gallons of water a day during one of California's most punishing droughts in 1976-77.
“We were told to put a brick in the toilet. We were told, 'Absolutely no car washing.' People started bathing with their children,” Lopez recalled. “It scared the hell out of me.”
Thirty years later, Lopez, now mayor of the tiny Fresno County community, is working to head off another water crisis. He is crisscrossing the state to help promote Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's agenda to build reservoirs.
Still a long shot in the Democratic-controlled Legislature, Schwarzenegger's proposal, wrapped in a broader, $9 billion bond measure, appears to be the first credible attempt to commit the state to new reservoirs in some time.
Schwarzenegger and dam supporters say times have changed. New reservoirs are not all about more water for farms and growth, but also can provide vital flood protection, water-quality and environmental benefits, and the flexibility to move supply to where and when it is needed most.
“I don't know of any reservoir that is a slam-dunk. I don't know of any that has a fatal flaw. If they had a fatal flaw, they wouldn't be on the list,” said Lester Snow, the governor's chief water adviser.
The Republican governor is pressing for $5.1 billion to build two reservoirs and enlarge a third. Water agencies would be required to chip in an addition $5 billion or so – money that would largely come from ratepayers.
Advocates of more storage are convinced the time to act is now, with the public's anxiety over a dry spell, climate change and court-ordered measures to protect a Sacramento delta fish that threaten to disrupt Southern California water deliveries.
That agenda is suspect, critics contend. No water agency has stepped forward with a check, the environmental risks outweigh any possible benefits and there are easier, cheaper and quicker ways to improve water supply, they say.
In the Legislature, Democrats have brushed aside recent GOP bids for reservoirs, providing little more than a few million dollars toward studies while spending billions on water conservation and environmental restoration.
This year, majority Democrats have countered with a $5.4 billion bond measure that does not dedicate money to large, statewide projects. It reflects their belief that the state's priorities should be water savings, underground storage and local reservoir projects, such as enlarging San Vicente in San Diego County.
Republicans are determined to make their stand this year.
“No surface storage, no deal,” said Assembly Republican Leader Mike Villines of Fresno.
