Democrats blocking real fix on water
Democrats blocking real fix on water
By Dennis Hollingsworth
2:00 a.m. August 30, 2009
It's time for California's legislative Democratic leaders to either get serious about water reform or get out of the way.
So far they haven't done either one.
California is in the midst of a water crisis that affects everyone who lives here. The existing water system is broken and is no longer capable of meeting our needs. Millions of residents are facing cutbacks in their water supplies, rising costs and the threat of rationing. Tens of thousands of jobs and billions of dollars have been lost from the state's economy in just the last three years. And federal environmental regulations are sending billions of gallons of our fresh-water supplies to waste into the ocean.
Fortunately there is a growing consensus among the state's academic experts, environmental, fisheries and wildlife agencies, farmers, public water providers, business leaders and specialists in economics and engineering on what needs to be done. Environmental restoration in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, increased surface and groundwater storage, water conservation and new conveyance systems to protect the purity of the water supplied to two-thirds of California's population are all part of that prescription.
But instead of getting behind the plan, Democratic leaders in the Senate and Assembly are backing a package of “water billsâ€
