Thursday’s top of the scroll: Parched state searches for ways to expand water supply

From the Wall Street Journal:

When California’s budget impasse is settled, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will have to deal with the state’s other big crisis: fresh water. Gov. Schwarzenegger and other top lawmakers have already drafted plans to attack a severe water shortage in the state, which has suffered a three-year drought.

As soon as the stalemate over how to bridge California’s $26.3 billion budget gap is resolved, the governor and legislative leaders plan to introduce a package of water-related measures calling for more water conservation and an estimated $10 billion bond measure to finance more fresh water storage. “We’re going to get that water done this year,” said Gov. Schwarzenegger last month at a budget speech in Fresno, Calif. “This is the year of the water. It’s that simple.”

Water is anything but a simple issue in California, where politicians have long fought over how to divvy up one of the West’s scarcest resources. With some of California’s reservoirs now holding as little as 21% of capacity, 60 urban water districts have instituted mandatory water conservation, up from six last summer. The current drought is hurting the state more than in the past, partly because California’s population has grown to 38 million people, from 29 million two decades ago.

State officials warn the situation could worsen. “If next year is average or below average in water, we’ll have very serious problems,” said Lester Snow, director of the California Department of Water Resources.

Read more from the Wall Street Journal by clicking here.

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