Environment & The Green Beat

SACRAMENTO (CBS 5 / AP) ― Lawmakers moved closer Tuesday in their effort to alleviate California's water woes but passage of a comprehensive fix was far from assured.

The challenge to overhaul the state's decades old-water system has tormented lawmakers for years as California's population has grown and environmental conditions have worsened.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said Tuesday it would be "a historic accomplishment" if the Legislature sent him a solution to restore the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and create a stable supply of water for cities in Southern California and farmers in the Central Valley.

Democrats and Republicans have spent months hashing out a package of bills intended to change how water is used in California and manage the delta, the estuary that funnels fresh water from the north to the south where most people live.

At the center of the package is a bond that has grown in the past two days to nearly $11 billion to pay for new dams, groundwater cleanup, conservation and habitat restoration. The addition of the last billion dollars came late Tuesday by the Assembly, which wanted more money for water recycling and conservation.

"I really do sense that members see this as a very historic moment for the state," Assemblyman Jared Huffman, D-San Rafael, said before the Assembly began debate Tuesday evening. Democrats and Republicans spent the day making last-minute changes behind closed doors to win the support of reluctant members.

State senators bolstered private property rights protections to win the approval of a new groundwater monitoring system. That left all but one bill awaiting Senate approval — a measure that would increase penalties for illegal water diversions.

The Assembly recessed Tuesday after passing only one of six bills. It was unclear whether Assembly Speaker Karen Bass, D-Los Angeles, could get the needed votes for the bond, as well as reforms proposed for the delta. A groundwater monitoring bill failed to pass in the Assembly on an initial vote, although Bass told reporters she was confident she had the votes for it and the rest of the package.

"We are comfortable and confident we will wrap up and we will have the votes," Bass said. "We want to finish this tonight."

As part of a solution, lawmakers have proposed creating a seven-member council that would govern the delta's ecosystem and water supplies.

Lawmakers who represent the delta vowed to oppose the water package unless their region was given a bigger voice on the council. Their biggest fear is that an entity dominated by non-delta residents would allow the construction of a controversial canal that would send water around the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. Delta farmers say a canal would deprive them of fresh water, as well as the fish and other native species that live there.

"The elephant in the room is the peripheral canal. There should not be a process by which we delegate that authority to a bunch of unelected bureaucrats and that's what will happen," said Assemblywoman Alyson Huber, D-Lodi. "There's no way I'm voting for this package as it stands."

Lawmakers are trying to upgrade the state's water delivery by restoring the delta, which is the heart of the decades-old system. The maze of earthen levees is susceptible to earthquakes that could halt pumping for months to two-thirds of the state's residents and thousands of acres of cropland.

Water conditions also have worsened for farmers, water districts and wildlife in the delta. Federal courts and agencies have ordered reductions in pumping to protect its collapsing ecosystem.

Legislators want to require California's cities to use 20 percent less water by 2020, although large urban areas such as Los Angeles and San Francisco would not have to meet such a high threshold because their per-capita water use is lower than other parts of the state.

To get a bond measure on the ballot in 2010, legislative leaders need a two-thirds vote in the Democratic-controlled Legislature and will need some support from Republicans, who are likely to withhold their votes in the Assembly until the other bills in the water package are shaped to their liking.

Some Democrats also have reservations about the bond.

"It is fiscally irresponsible in my opinion," said Assemblywoman Mariko Yamada, D-Davis. "The general fund is basically bankrupt, and we're going to have to make additional reductions in services to vulnerable Californians."

The Legislature's nonpartisan analyst's office has said the bond's cost could force the state to spend 10 percent of its revenue each year to pay off debt.

(© 2010 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)