Legislative hearings on state's water crisis begin
E.J. Schultz
Fresno Bee
08/17/2009
SACRAMENTO -- Lawmakers say they are determined to start solving the state's water problems this week.
"I think we have to get something done on water, period. Expect major action," predicted Sen. Dean Florez, D-Shafter.
But with only four weeks left in the legislative session, groups on all sides of the debate are skeptical that Democrats and Republicans can strike a deal to stabilize city and farm water supplies while reversing the environmental decline of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.
Informational hearings on legislation will start today and continue for two weeks. At that point, a special joint committee of the Senate and Assembly is scheduled to convene, leaving only two weeks for compromise. "We don't have a lot of time left," said Sen. Dave Cogdill, R-Modesto, a lead water negotiator. But he said he is confident that "if we don't get it done by the regular session, [Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger] will call a special session on water and keep after it."
Even then, the odds could be against compromise because the conflicts on water policy are as sharp as ever.
Southern California cities and San Joaquin Valley farms are pushing for a canal to send water around the delta and bring more certainty to their supplies. Environmental opposition to the decades-old proposal has softened some, but delta residents and farmers remain steadfastly opposed because they fear a water grab. On the east side of the Valley, agricultural groups continue to push for new dams -- and they have the backing of Republicans. But environmentalists favor other alternatives, such as ground-water storage and recycling.
In fits and starts, the governor and lawmakers have sought a major water deal for three years. But like previous leaders, they've been paralyzed as regional interest groups fight for their own needs.
"After a while it's hard to remember we're one state and we're supposed to work together on problems," said Phil Isenberg, chairman of the Delta Vision Task Force, created by the governor in 2006 to seek solutions to the delta's woes. "The tradition in California on water has been essentially, 'me first and once I'm happy, then I'll talk about making other people happy.' "
If there is hope for change, it comes from the belief on all sides that the status quo is not acceptable.
The three-year drought has fallowed farmers' fields and left farmworkers without jobs. The anger has overflowed into the streets in the form of marches and protests against delta environmental pumping restrictions, which farmers say have made their problems worse.
Meanwhile, the ecosystem collapse in the delta -- which environmentalists partially blame on the pumping -- has forced the shutdown of commercial salmon fishing and endangered the delta smelt fish species.
The starting point is a five-bill package by Democrats that focuses on the delta. The key bills would form the Delta Stewardship Council, a seven-member committee appointed by the governor and Legislature. The council would be charged with adopting a plan by 2011 to restore the delta, while assuring more reliable water supplies.
The council -- designed to bring cohesion to water policy -- was recommended by the Delta Vision Task Force, which after nearly two years of study concluded that water supply and environmental health should be "co-equal" goals.
At present, more than 200 agencies have some role in the delta, a 700-mile maze of rivers, tributaries and sloughs that is the hub of the state's complex water delivery system. But none of the agencies has the sweeping authority needed to press for major change, Isenberg said. "The present governance structure is totally dysfunctional and incapable of doing much of anything," he said.
Valley farmers and Republicans say the bills fall well short. Cogdill, along with the governor, has pushed for a "comprehensive solution," including a roughly $10 billion bond that voters would have to approve as soon as 2010 to pay for new dams, more conservation and delta upgrades.
East Valley growers, led by the Friant Water Users Authority, want a new dam near Millerton Lake to guarantee water supplies that they say could be lost to help restore the San Joaquin River. They also fear that some water contractors on the west side might reassert their claims to east Valley water, if they continue to lose delta supplies.
"If the delta has a failure or regulations choke off more water ... it inevitably triggers" Friant to deliver more water to the west side, said Mario Santoyo, an assistant general manager at Friant.
Environmentalists counter that the dam is not worth the projected construction cost of about $3 billion.
"Why would we build a dam like Temperance Flat dam, which costs lots of money, which may not be built in 10 [or] 15 years, and may not capture much water on a year-to-year basis?" asked Jim Metropulos, a lobbyist for the Sierra Club.
Meanwhile, delta residents, farmers and fishermen oppose the bills because they fear the newly formed council would approve a canal to move water around the delta. The Schwarzenegger administration believes it has authority to build the canal, but the council's backing would give the project more momentum.
"Having an approach that incorporates more interests and has the Legislature on board is very, very important to us," said Lester Snow, director of the state Department of Water Resources.
