In a dry time, plans for water projects flow

SACRAMENTO — Acknowledging the specter of drought, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger appealed Monday for a $6-billion investment in water works, while the Democratic leader of the state Senate called for a $5-billion water bond measure on next year's ballot.

The maneuverings by the two politicians virtually ensure that voters will be asked next year to approve billions of dollars in spending for water projects — including, perhaps, two new dams and a canal to siphon the Sacramento River.

Cutbacks are inevitable next year if rain and snow don't fall abundantly this winter, and the dueling announcements by Schwarzenegger and Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata (D-Oakland) kick off what are expected to be several months of wrangling to shape ballot proposals.

The call for more spending comes as lawmakers and bureaucrats weigh how to spend $10 billion from previous water bonds.

Standing before a wind-swept, largely depleted Central Valley reservoir, Schwarzenegger said a second dry winter "will be catastrophic. It will be a disaster."

"We must get our act together now," he said. "We have to build."

The governor touted his $6-billion plan to build two reservoirs and boost groundwater storage, rework the plumbing of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, restore rivers and bolster conservation.
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