Editorial: The feds can curb a foolish California water giveaway
California’s dysfunctional state government is now on the verge of a water crisis.
The state is in the grip of an unprecedented drought that has left the Central Valley and Southern California regions starved for water. Government officials should be working on a plan to meet the crisis.
Instead, Sacramento bureaucrats like Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon are ducking responsibility and giving themselves the authority to make decisions that put the public at risk.
In an attempt to take control of the situation, Rendon has pushed for California to give $1 billion to cities in San Diego and Kern that are demanding water.
The money is part of a bill that would divert water from an existing water right system that the state has been working to establish over the past five years. This water would then be turned over to the cities when there’s not enough water available, thus creating a new water right system that serves not just the San Diego region but all of California.
Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed that bill in 2012. But now, we’re on the cusp of a political crisis in the Bay Area that could have deadly consequences for the region’s economy.
Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed that bill in 2012. But now, we’re on the cusp of a political crisis in the Bay Area that could have deadly consequences for the region’s economy.
In short, Rendon has turned a crisis created by environmental laws against poor Californians in a state that has been asleep at the wheel.
As a result, the drought will grow worse with no meaningful action by the state government. This makes California one of several states that could see a repeat of the devastating drought of the 1930s.
The state government needs to do two things. First, it should put the drought into an emergency management system to make sure it doesn’t get any worse.
That way, California can begin to focus on solving the water crisis rather than dealing with a political crisis, which is likely to get worse before it gets better.
Second, while the drought situation is serious