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Editorial: Flaws in water deal make bond hard to swallow, says editorial

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on November 7, 2009 at 8:08 am

From the Silicon Valley Mercury News:

“California’s comprehensive water package may go down in history as Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s greatest bipartisan accomplishment. But the plan has a deep flaw, and it depends on voter passage of a whopping $11 billion bond measure next November — a stretch indeed if there’s any organized opposition and if the economy, especially job growth, is still weak.

That any agreement was achieved is little short of a miracle in this political climate in Sacramento. Both Democrats and Republicans compromised, a sadly rare occurrence, so it’s painful to second-guess the deal. But one provision does the state a disservice: While urban areas will be asked to cut their water use 20 percent, agriculture, which uses 80 percent of the state’s water, is not required to work for conservation.

Anyone who has seen the sprinklers spraying into 100-degree sunshine on summer afternoons in the Central Valley knows that ag could save some water.

More conservation in the plan could have reduced the need for costly and environmentally damaging dams that ran up the cost of that bond, which will require up to $700 million a year in general fund dollars to service the debt. …”

Read more of this editorial from the Silicon Valley Mercury News by clicking here.

November 7, 2009 · Filed Under Water Legislation

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