Senate Democrats balk at governor's plan for dams

By Judy Lin - Bee Capitol Bureau
January 25, 2007

Senate Democrats on Thursday cast doubt on Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's plan to build a pair of dams, saying they have a cheaper and easier way to maintain the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.

"We want more water supply and we want better flood protection as cheaply and as quickly as possible," Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata, D-Oakland, said during a Capitol new conference to unveil his party's flood protection plan.

He added: "We don't believe new dams at this point are needed. They cost billions of dollars and they take years, in fact decades to build."

The Schwarzenegger administration has proposed building two dams, most likely in Temperance Flat just above Friant Dam near Fresno , on the San Joaquin River , and Sites reservoir in Colusa and Glenn counties.

In proposing four bills, Democrats said they favor a mix of conservation, groundwater storage and better floodplain management to provide twice the amount of water than the dams could provide.

Their bills seek to change how the state manages water and flood protection, as well as direct new bond money toward fixing existing levees. Democrats said their proposal ensures that flood agencies put public safety first, requires the state to rebuild weak levees, and reforms the structure of a 1940s-era flood protection board by requiring Legislative oversight.

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