Water pours into an irrigation canal on April 17, 2009 near Firebaugh, California. (David McNew/Getty Images)
The state's water issues are taking precedent, with a special committee meeting last Tuesday, which included representatives from both the Republican and Democratic parties. The committee hopes to etch out a bill before the session closes.
The water plan would include proposals for new reservoirs, waterways, and stricter water conservation measures. Also included in the bill are provisions for building more dams and canals, which some environmentalists say damage the environment and the natural landscape as well as being overly expensive.
Estimates for the bill's cost ranges from $15 billion to over twice that amount. A major question raised on the House floor was how, and who, would be paying for the proposed measures with the mounting state debt.
Many House Republicans denounced the proposed bill. Assemblyman Dennis Hollingsworth (R-Murrieta) called it a “dog and pony show.” Other Republican members claimed that the bill would not get any results and that it is being pushed through without bipartisan support in such a short time frame.
As to whether the bill can be passed in time, Senate leader Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) said, “By Friday, it is my hope that we will have a full package, one big bill that will be ready to vote upon.”
The current water system has not been updated in many years to keep pace with the burgeoning population in California, which tops 36 million.
Last week, Governor Schwarzenegger sent a letter to the White House, asking for federal aid to help deal with California's water crisis, a request which was rejected by the federal government. Furthermore, progressively less snowpack in the Sierra Nevadas has made lawmakers feel the pressure to create a new water plan, which has not come to fruition in the past several years.
Another hot topic is what to do with the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, which provides two-thirds of California's water supply.
