It’s official

Governor Schwarzenegger declared a drought yesterday, the first since 1991, although he stopped short of declaring a state of emergency. He’s calling for voluntary conservation efforts, and giving them time to work before imposing mandatory water rationing.

It’s unfortunate that California as a whole whipsaws between pushing conservation in dry years and ignoring it in wet years.

While I was walking precincts, I talked to a voter who was incensed that homeowners are asked to cut back on watering their lawns when large agribuisness uses many, many times more water irrigating thirsty crops like alfalfa and rice in the Central Valley. Why, he asked, couldn’t they be forced to switch crops? I tried to explain that water rights are the same as property rights, and can’t be taken away by fiat, but I had to admit that I agreed with him on the general point.

And farmers are feeling the pressure. The Westlands Water District has already announced 40 – 45% cutbacks for farmers this summer.

Schwarzenegger is hoping to get Democrats in the Legislature to agree to his overarching water strategy, which calls for an $11.9 billion bond issue to pay for:

  • Water Storage: $3.5 billion dedicated to the development of additional storage.
  • Delta Sustainability: $2.4 billion to help implement a sustainable resource management plan for the Delta.
  • Water Resources Stewardship: $1.1 billion to implement river restoration projects.
  • Water Conservation: $3.1 billion to increase water use efficiency.
  • Water Quality Improvement: $1.1 billion for efforts to reduce the contamination of groundwater.
  • Other Critical Water Projects: $700 million for water recycling, hillside restoration for areas devastated by fire and removal of fish barriers on key rivers and streams.

Remember that storage means dams and reservoirs, although specifically off-stream reservoirs in this case.

The chances of this happening in a year when the state is already trying to reconcile a budget deficit that is sometimes pegged at $20 billion, however, seem remote. On the other hand, if not now, when?