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Tuesday’s top of the scroll is this editorial: Lawmakers block water reform; Constituents’ growing anger making it harder for politicians to hide

Posted by: Maven on June 23, 2009 at 8:03 am

A note to my readers: The “top of the scroll” designation is just my picking of the most interesting story of the morning. The choosing of this editorial is not meant to be construed as an endorsement of this or any other point of view.

From the Merced Sun-Star:

The politicians are scrambling for political cover as California’s water crisis gets more serious because of a third year of a drought and environmental restrictions on how much water can flow in the Golden State.

They don’t want their constituents to know they’ve been ducking this issue for years so they periodically fire off news releases demanding action. But they are the ones who have been standing in the way of getting anything done. That dirty little secret is finally getting out to California residents, and many are becoming angry.

In Fresno last week, the water debate got rowdy and at one point there was the possibility of physical confrontations among some protesting the government’s lack of action. All this makes fine political theater, but it’s time to tone down the rhetoric if we are going to get a comprehensive water plan that meets all the needs of California.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and the Legislature have an opportunity to come together behind a plan that would create surface storage, expand underground storage through water banking and dramatically increase water availability through conservation efforts.

But getting this agreement would mean sitting down with the warring factions, chiefly environmentalists who oppose dams and farming interests who think dams are their salvation.

Read more of this editorial from the Merced Sun-Star by clicking here.

June 23, 2009 · Filed Under Legislation - State & Federal

Comments

One Response to “Tuesday’s top of the scroll is this editorial: Lawmakers block water reform; Constituents’ growing anger making it harder for politicians to hide”

  1. WaterSource on June 23rd, 2009 9:38 am

    TOO SIMPLE … ?

    CA might want to investigate/verify a new NON-TRIBUTARY fresh water Source that can yield a million acre feet a year for CA and be stored/accumulated in Lake Mead to insure the generation of 2000 megawatts of RENEWABLE ENERGY in a facility that is already built and paid for by the American people.

    Development of the Source will not damage the environment or the water rights of anyone, anywhere.

    Lake Mead holds 28.5 million acre feet and is half empty. Why not accumulate water from the new Source in Lake Mead to use it as a water bank to solve the water dilemmas of CA ? Too simple … ?

    WaterSource/WaterBank
    waterrdw@yahoo.com
    Retired Water Rights Analyst

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