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Economic turmoil derails any water legistlation for now

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on November 20, 2008 at 6:20 am

From Capitol Weekly:

A long-simmering effort to craft an omnibus state water package in the Legislature is being put on hold because of the faltering economy and deep-seated disagreements between rival interests.

But players in the on-again, off-again negotiations remain hopeful, in part because an agreement nearly was reached earlier in the year before it got snared in budget politics, in part because new Senate Leader Darrell Steinberg of Sacramento, a mediator by profession, has publicly made water a top priority.

And pushing the discussions is the drought outlook. “The economy and the severity of the drought, the wildfires and everything else: It’s frustrating for many of us that we haven’t done anything in the way of infrastructure before now, and those things just heighten the criticality,” said Senate GOP Leader David Cogdill of Fresno. “The infrastructure will take a couple of decades, and we want to get started.”

Rarely in the state’s history is a need for a comprehensive, workable water plan greater than it is now. The state intends to cut water deliveries to cities and farms by 85 percent for the upcoming water year – the lowest since the drought of 1976-77, and less than half of the current deliveries. Delivery projections can change – three weeks of rain would make a dramatic difference – but water agencies are bracing for potential rationing. Reservoirs are at their lowest level in more than 30 years.

“The only thing that will solve our problem is a comprehensive package, with all the pieces working simultaneously,” said Timothy Quinn, executive director of the Association of California Water Agencies. Recycling, desalination, flood control, storage – all belong in the mix, and the public believes they are worth the cost, he added.

“The big projects were approved during the Great Depression. ACWA did polling, and even though the voters recognized that the economy was weakening, they recognized that the water system was in crisis and needed to be improved,” Quinn said.