California lawmakers are debating whether to put a scaled-down water bond on the November ballot. And as Katie Orr reports from Sacramento, a rally at the Capitol Monday demonstrated the increasing pressure on the legislature as it wades through a number of bond proposals.
Business, agriculture and environmental leaders gathered under the blazing sun, in front the brown Capitol lawn to express the dire need for a water bond. Bryce Lundberg is a rice farmer and a member of the North State Water Alliance. His group has some criteria they’d like to see included in a bond.
Lundberg: “We believe that there are two overarching elements that must be in a water bond. First, investments that increase California’s water supply. And, second, operational certainty for managing future water supplies.”
The Alliance wants a water bond to include money for additional storage, environmental protections and improved urban water management.
An $11 billion bond is slated for the November ballot, but a recent poll suggested voters aren’t likely to approve the measure. Lawmakers are now considering replacing it with a smaller bond, though one that would still run into the billions of dollars. Several new proposals are pending in the legislature.
