California to get $260 million in U.S. funds for water

Wed Apr 15, 2009 4:32pm EDT
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - California will receive $260 million of $1 billion in U.S. economic stimulus funds slated for water infrastructure, U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said on Wednesday.

Environmental groups sue to halt water transfers
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on April 15, 2009 at 9:18 am
From the Contra Costa Times:
Environmental activists, including the Butte Environmental Council, filed a lawsuit Monday stating the state Department of Water Resources, the state Natural Resources Agency and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger are not following environmental laws for planned water transfers. After filing the lawsuit, representatives from the groups said they will likely seek an injunction to halt the proposed water transfers.

The Drought Water Bank, established by the state, is in the works to transfer water this year. While far fewer sellers have signed up than initially proposed, sellers from the Sacramento Valley are poised to move some water.

The bank was used in the 1990s to broker water sales from north to south. It was revived this year to deal with California’s third year of drought. The program would pay growers $275 for an acre-foot of water — about the amount of water used annually by two average households.


Whoa boy, let the games begin.