[env-trinity] Capitol Weekly 8/27/09

[Byron Leydecker]

Major water bond proposed in the Capitol

Capitol Weekly-8/27/09

By John Howard 

 

A plan to get voter approval on $11.7 billion in new water projects that
include reservoirs, Delta environmental protections and even a massive canal
is under consideration in the Capitol, the latest in a series of proposals
targeting California's water problems. 

 

The  plan - not yet in the form of a bill - would place a bond issue before
voters in November 2010. It is being pushed by Assemblymember Anna
Caballero, D-Salinas. 

 

Lawmakers in both parties and the governor have been attempting to negotiate
a water package that includes new storage and greater deliveries of water
into the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta east of San Francisco and to the
San Joaquin Valley and Central California. 

 

They also are considering the construction of a canal to carry water from
the Sacramento River in the north around the Delta to the California
Aqueduct, which would move the water southward. 

 

Some environmentalists oppose the proposal as harmful to the Delta, and
Delta interests are fearful of being frozen out of the discussions. 

 

The Delta, a vast estuary under court-ordered environmental protections, is
crucial to the negotiations because most of the state's drinking comes
through the delta. 

 

The notion of going to the ballot for voter-approved borrowing is
controversial, partly because the state's weak economy may not be conducive
to a bond sale and partly because lawmakers are hesitant to take on more
state debt. 

 

Supporters of the storage projects and canal, including the public water
agencies, believe a fee schedule is more efficient and politically feasible
than borrowing.# 

 

 

Byron Leydecker, JcT

Chair, Friends of Trinity River

PO Box 2327

Mill Valley, CA 94942-2327

415 383 4810 land

415 519 4810 cell

 <mailto:bwl3 at comcast.net> bwl3 at comcast.net

 <mailto:bleydecker at stanfordalumni.org> bleydecker at stanfordalumni.org
(secondary)

 <http://fotr.org/> http://www.fotr.org 

 

 

 

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