4 comments | After several months of legislative hearings, meetings, and debates the Legislature passed a comprehensive water package that will enable Californians to share, store and conserve water more effectively than we do today. The package of bills, signed into law by the Governor recently, enact landmark improvements and investments in California’s water delivery system.
The comprehensive water package acknowledges that water in California is both a scarce and vital resource, and that significant problems with our aging water infrastructure and supply required a broad, long-term, sustainable and balanced statewide solution.
Front and center is the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta - the hub of California’s water supply system, which provides a source of water to two-thirds of California’s population. The legislation establishes a
Delta Conservancy to restore the Delta’s deteriorating ecosystem consistent with Assembly Bill 13, a bill I introduced earlier this year.
The set of bills also address the other side of the equation; ensuring a more reliable water supply for all Californians. While water supply is not only important for our environment, it is also the foundation of California’s enormous and diverse economy.
Collectively, this package of legislation is the most comprehensive set of water laws in the past half-century which has drawn the support from an unprecedented coalition of water districts and agencies, environmental organizations, business groups, and workers and industry groups.
Related Links: California lawmakers approve major water deal | A more perfect union | Politics
However, despite the historic passage and approval of legislation, the work is not done. On November 2, 2010, voters will be asked to approve a key component of the package, an $11.14 billion water bond that provides critical funding to carry out several ecosystem restoration and water supply reliability projects.
Locally, the bond funds will boost efforts to increase storage and expand supplies. The San Vicente Dam raise and the Carlsbad Desalination plant are among projects eligible to receive funding.
While I’m proud of the legislative accomplishments on water, I’m asking voters to commit to supporting the water bond which represents the final piece to fixing California’s water woes.
Mary Salas is a California asssemblymember representing the 79th District.
Tags: california water, Schwarzenegger, SDNN
Comment by: Water man Posted: November 19, 2009, 4:33 pm
Salas wants us to give taxpayer money to Poseidon - a private corporation - for the Carlsbad Desal plant. If it isn’t economic for Poseidon to do it on its own, why should taxpayers pay for it? Talk about socialism. Mary Salas should oppose corporate welfare and save as much as she can to protect the general fund to pay for education and social services. Mary Salas - Queen of corporate welfare.
Comment by: Skeptic Posted: November 20, 2009, 11:18 am
The public should not have to pay for Poseidon –a private corporation –to build a project that will enable them to turn around and make huge profits by selling expensive water back to the public. Why would I pay someone to rip me off? Why doesn’t Mary Salas support more funding for conservation and water reuse/recycling? We should exhaust less expensive and more environmentally friendly PUBLIC projects before stuffing PRIVATE CORPORATIONS with public money! Water conservation and reuse first!
Comment by: Watcher Posted: November 20, 2009, 1:00 pm
Salas ignores more than $2 billion in pork in the water bill package and what the interest costs of paying off the $11 billion bond will mean for other programs currently funded by the state’s general fund. Why should taxpayers be forced to pay for this effort while the real beneficiaries, billionaire central valley farmers, get a free ride? Voters are going to kill this turkey next year.
Comment by: icare Posted: November 20, 2009, 7:41 pm
Wait so there is no money to educate our children? We are letting tens of thousands of prisoners out of jail, and Mary Salas wants to spend more money? The State Assembly is a mess. She is sitting up there thinking of ways to spend money instead of figuring out a way to fix this broken budget. Why aren’t these Assembly Members attacking the budget? I don’t think that they are bright enough to figure it out.