State Senate Panel Rejects Water-Storage Bill

By E.J. Schultz, The Fresno Bee, Calif.

Apr. 25–Rejecting one of Gov. Schwarzenegger’s big agenda items, a Democratic-led committee on Tuesday voted down a bill that would ask voters to spend $2.5 billion on water storage, including a dam east of Fresno.

The defeat by the Senate Committee on Natural Resources and Water — on a partisan 3-4 vote — marked the second time in two years that the Legislature has killed a proposal to spend state money on a dam at Temperance Flat, upstream of Friant Dam.

While it is possible that the issue could re-emerge in state budget negotiations, dam supporters said they are considering taking the issue straight to voters in a ballot initiative.

“A rebellion and a revolution has started and it’s going to start in Central California,” said Fresno Mayor Alan Autry. The mayor, joining other dam supporters at a post-hearing news conference on the Capitol steps, vowed a “continual presence” by Valley leaders in Sacramento to lobby on the issue.

Senate Bill 59, by Sen. Dave Cogdill, R-Modesto, would have put a $3.95 billion water bond on the 2008 ballot, including $2 billion for two dams: Temperance Flat and one proposal on the west side of the Sacramento Valley called Sites Reservoir. The remainder is for ground-water storage, environmental restoration, water conservation and improvements to the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta.

Democrats, for environmental reasons, have long opposed dams. They also want feasibility studies to be completed before spending money.

Still, dam supporters were hopeful because of the backing of two political heavyweights. Schwarzenegger made the plan a priority, even touring the state a few weeks ago to push for more water storage. Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein also endorsed the proposal.

But committee Democrats held their ground, arguing that local water users — such as the Valley’s agricultural community — should commit to pick up some of the cost before a bond is put before voters.

A dam at Temperance is estimated to cost about $2 billion. Under SB 59, users would not be asked to chip in until after the bond passes.

“It seems to me to be backwards,” said committee chairman Sen. Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento.

But Cogdill said users are waiting for the state to take the first step. “This bill provides them some assurance,” he said.

Democrats also argued that the state should spend more on conservation before building new storage. In the past 40 years, the state’s per capita water consumption has been cut in half, according to a coalition of 58 environmental organizations, which argued against the bill.

Building dams is “so yesterday,” said Sen. Sheila Kuehl, D-Santa Monica.

Schwarzenegger — who has included water storage along with prison expansion and health care as his top priorities — said the fight is not over.

“Yes, it has stalled,” he said at a news conference. “But, in the end, I think the momentum is gaining in California. People recognize the fact that we need water storage.”

The governor has argued that new dams are needed to supply water to a state whose population is expected to jump 30% in the next 20 years. He also has cited global warming, which could reduce snowpack. That could lead to more wintertime flooding and fewer opportunities to capture slow-melting snow.

Also, supporters of the Temperance Flat dam say it is needed to replace water supplies that could be lost in the restoration of the San Joaquin River. A settlement to send more water down the river still must be endorsed by Congress.

But environmentalists say there isn’t much additional water to capture, and extra water from the new reservoir would only be available in the wettest of years. At most, average annual water deliveries from Friant would increase by 10%, or 128,000 acre-feet, they say.

Steinberg, in an interview after the hearing, said he is not against dams. But he said he favors sites closer to the Delta that could store more Delta water should Delta pumps be slowed down for environmental reasons.

“I would not take the vote today to be a vote against water storage,” he said. “It was a vote that essentially says these two projects are premature and the proponents have not demonstrated that they are the best locations in connection with what ought to be our highest priority — fixing the Delta.”

At present, Friant Dam is mostly used to supply water to east Valley cities and growers. But a new reservoir upstream of Friant could allow for water to be sent across the state — northward using the San Joaquin River channel and southward using manmade canals, said Mario Santoyo, assistant general manager of the Friant Water Users Authority.

“We’re in a very unique position where we can help the broader spectrum of California,” he said. “Most reservoirs are not situated in that way.”

The reporter can be reached at eschultz@fresnobee.com or (916) 326-5541.

—–

Copyright (c) 2007, The Fresno Bee, Calif.

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News.

For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.