Content area
Full Text
As California contemplates its water future, one simple principle should guide its choices: Any 30-year investment in water infrastructure must take into account what California's water supply situation will be 30 years from now. If population and warming forecasts are correct, by mid-century our state will be more crowded and precipitation patterns will have changed. Some regions may be wetter; most are likely to be drier. No matter what investments we make, water supplies from Northern California and the Colorado River will continue to diminish. More people will chase less water.
That reality is inescapable and makes long-term investment necessary, either this year or soon. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger believes that this is the right time to ask voters to approve a $9.3-billion water bond, notwithstanding the state's other pressing needs. He may or may not be right about the timing, but he's certainly correct that we'll have to spend to adapt to a difficult future.