Sacramento pursuing water bond despite hard times

“The delta needs a steward. No one speaks for the delta,” said Sen. Lois Wolk, D-Davis, pushing for a powerful oversight commission.

Wolk also proposes creating a special water master position given “real enforcement powers” to make sure state agencies follow water quality laws and restoration goals.

Republicans bristle, worried that a czar could usurp local control and use water as a weapon against development. Schwarzenegger is leaning toward creating a council that would set a plan for the delta and ensure that agencies follow its guidelines.

Meanwhile, as the debate drags on in Sacramento well into a second year, hardship continues to plague Central Valley towns.

Robert Silva, mayor of the tiny farming community of Mendota, where nearly one out of every two adults are unemployed and the outlook remains bleak, said it's time to stop talking.

“If we don't solve these problems, it's goodbye,” he said.


