California Senate Leader Darrell Steinberg said lawmakers plan to rewrite the $11 billion water bond for the November 2014 ballot – and the new version will likely have less money for storage projects such as dams.
“I think there will continue to be a chapter for storage," said Steinberg. "I don’t think there will be nearly the same amount of money in that chapter as there was in the original bond. And I think there will be de-emphasis, frankly – or at least, on the same surface storage projects.”
Steinberg said the overall size of the bond will be “significantly less” as well. In addition to storage, he said it will focus on safe drinking water, conservation efforts and restoring the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.
His comments come as a new Public Policy Institute of California poll shows nearly 70 percent of voters believe it’s important that a water bond be passed. But just over 40 percent support the measure at its current size.
