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PermalinkFriday, November 13, 2009
California — Governor Schwarzenegger has signed the final piece of legislation in the major water deal passed by lawmaker last week.
Above: In this photo from 2008, the water level in Lake Oroville, a major California reservoir, is shown with lower-than-normal water levels. California legislators are working with federal agencies to address the drought problem throughout the state.
The Governor traveled to the Sacramento San Joaquin Delta for the signing ceremony Thursday. This final bill creates a new Delta Stewardship Council, which will have broad authority over the Delta. Governor Schwarzenegger says it’s an important piece of the new water plan:
“The council will develop and coordinate a plan to achieve two co-equal goals: Delta restoration and water supply reliability," said Schwarzenegger. "What we'll do is it will rebuild the levees, we will create new habitat, we will finally fix the Delta and restore its ecosystem.”
Schwarzenegger said along with everglades in Florida, this will be largest environmental restoration project in America.
The water package also includes new conservation standards, more monitoring of groundwater and tougher enforcement of water theft.
In addition, it contains an eleven billion dollar water bond that requires voter approval.
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