California Passes Comprehensive Water Legislation, Setting Historic Precedents In Water Policy

Following an all-night special session, the morning of November 4 saw the comprehensive "2009 Delta/Water Legislation" pass the California Legislature.  The several bills that make up the package set out guidance for managing the Sacramento—San Joaquin Bay—Delta Estuary (Delta), the five-county area that supplies water to two-thirds of the state's population, is a critical component of water supply to California's agricultural sector, and is home to more than 750 plant and animal species, some of which are listed as endangered.  As the Delta's water goes, so goes the state's – making this legislative package one of the Legislature's most important water-related acts in a generation.