In late 2009 the California State Legislature passed sweeping reforms of California's water delivery system that have been years in the making. The legislation, authored by Senate Leader Darrel Steinberg, D-Sacramento, and supported wholeheartedly by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, will give key authority to a seven-member Delta Stewardship Council to decide delta policy. The 116-page bill (summary here) contains stringent conservation and groundwater management programs, details how delta-area local governments will participate in the management of the delta, and includes mandatory conservation requiring a per capita, 20 percent cut in water use by 2020.  It does not contain the most controversial proposals in the debate over water: 1) whether a canal should be built to skirt the periphery of the Delta; and 2) whether new reservoirs should be built. These capital projects are separate issues.

One component of the legislation, however, is the need for an $11.1 billion-dollar general obligation bond to pay for the overhaul. This bond will go before the voters in November 2010 and may be a tough sell because of the state's financial situation and opposition from a variety of organizations. State Senator Mark Leno, along with other Bay Area lawmakers, voted against the bond because of the possibility that the payments would siphon scare funds from other state programs. MCL's Business-Environment breakfast on October 1, 2009 - "The Delta Next Door"- featured a panel of experts on the state's water system.