California comes close to landmark water deal; lawmakers to try again today

------- Photo - Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group ------------->> By Denis C. Theriault and Mike Taugher Bay Area News Group Tuesday .. 11/03/2009 SACRAMENTO — Bucking the history of an issue that has long flummoxed state leaders, the California Legislature finally began taking up the most sweeping overhaul of the state's aging water system in a generation, with the Senate late Monday approving a series of policy reforms and even a multibillion-dollar bond measure. But final approval of the landmark water effort — designed to shore up the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta and create a stable supply of water for the central and southern portions of the state — ultimately proved too elusive for lawmakers as Monday night ticked over into Tuesday morning. Partisan politics, regional squabbles — led especially by lawmakers from Delta districts — and technical hurdles wound up slowing debate to a crawl. Instead, just after midnight, lawmakers adjourned for the night hoping to finish their work this morning. Only the Senate actually got around to debating any bills Monday night, and even then senators started later than anticipated. Just after 10 p.m., they narrowly approved one of the more controversial pieces of the reform effort — a $9.9 billion bond bill that would build new dams, repair levees and finance other reforms. Senators later approved a bill that would force city and suburban residents to use 20 percent less water by the end of 2020. And they approved a measure that appropriates nearly $500 million from a 2006 bond measure for work on fixing the Delta. MORE .. San Jose Mercury-News MORE Resources: Senate APPROVES $9.9 Billion Water Bond Bill .. Contra Costa Times Senate APPROVES $9.9 Billion Water Bond Bill .. San Francisco Chronicle Legislators Water Action Comes in Dribbles .. Riverside Press-Enterprise