Schwarzenegger: New dams critical for water supply

By SAMANTHA YOUNG, The Associated Press
1:31 p.m. August 18, 2009

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger says he will reject any proposal to overhaul state water policy that fails to include funding for new dams.

The governor made his comments Tuesday outside the Capitol as lawmakers were holding a hearing on a package of bills intended to upgrade California's decades-old water-delivery system.

Those bills were written by Democrats and omit funding to build reservoirs. Schwarzenegger, Republican lawmakers and some Democrats who represent districts in the Central Valley have pushed for dams as a way to boost water supplies for California's growing population.

Democrats say they aren't ruling out money for dams but say the Legislature must first address problems with the fragile Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.

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