![]() ![]() That’s the size of the measure his association has proposed. Quinn is convinced voters will go for an $8.2 billion bond, including $3 billion for storage. That’s where the bond financing comes in. “We’re going to closely monitor the supply conditions and look at use trends,” said Dana Friehauf, a water resources specialist for the authority.īut even if the coming winter is a snow-maker, the state will face many of the same nagging questions, from protecting fish to restoring the delta to finding ways to store water during wet years. Still, it’s too early to suggest rationing, water officials say. The San Diego regon is more reliant on the Colorado than on state supplies. Current systemwide storage there is just half of normal. The outlook is just as bleak over at Lakes Mead and Powell fed by the Colorado River, which has been in a dry cycle for most of the last 14 years. The Shasta reservoir is at 68 percent of average for this time of year Oroville, 73 percent Folsom, 65 percent and San Luis, 51 percent. It could have been much worse, however, The state’s salvation was its vast reserves tucked in brimming reservoirs thanks to heavy storms in 2010-11 that delivered 144 percent of normal snowfall.īut that banked water is quickly running dry. As a result, the state limited deliveries to contractors to just 35 percent of their requests. That came on the heels of the 2011-12 snowpack of just 40 percent of average. The 2012-13 snowpack registered at 17 percent of normal. Pressure is mounting to strike a deal, particularly if the coming winter is a repeat of the last two seasons. The combined price tag is estimated at nearly $25 billion. ![]() While ratepayers will have to cover the proposed $14 billion tunnels, the general public will be asked as part of a statewide bond measure to pay for the delta’s environmental improvements and other water supply projects dotted across California. It is both economically and environmentally vital, but few compromise solutions have been found for moving water either through it, around it, or as Brown proposes - under it.īrown’s proposed twin tunnels project designed to carry water to Southern California and related plans to restore the vital San Joaquin-Sacramento Delta are both multibillion dollar undertakings with uncertain futures. The state for years had been working to restore the 1,100 mile maze of waterways that is the central hub of California’s water distribution network. The delta is the bottleneck for water and flash point for controversy. Currently, about a quarter of the San Diego region’s water is drawn out of the north, first flowing through the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and then delivered by the Metropolitan Water District. The San Diego County Water Authority wants to tap some bond money to help diversify sources of supply. The outcome will have consequences for the San Diego region in terms of how much water is available and at what price. I know they are worried that it will become a referendum on the twin tunnels,” Quinn said, quickly issuing a reminder that bond money is off limits for the actual tunnel construction and targeted for other projects. Tim Quinn, executive director of the Association of California Water Agencies, agrees Brown’s advisers are weighing all of the implications. “I know that cloud is looming …The governor is going to be very concerned politically whether this can move forward in 2014,” said Assemblywoman Toni Atkins, a San Diego Democrat active in bond talks. Moreover, Brown may not want to be dogged by controversy over a water bond and possible links to his disputed $14 billion twin tunnels water conveyance plan while likely running for re-election. ![]() That raises doubts over whether voters, in this still wobbly economy, would go for two big-ticket bonds on the same ballot. Top education officials are looking to replenish dwindling school construction accounts with a new bond of their own. ![]()
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