Panel Approves Bills to Force Faster Transfer of Delta Water

Legislation that would force the Deukmejian Administration to move quickly to increase water shipments to Southern and Central California was approved Tuesday by a Senate committee dominated by lawmakers from those areas.

By lopsided votes, the Agriculture and Water Committee passed three bills by its chairman, Sen. Ruben Ayala (D-San Bernardino), including a measure that would set a timetable for selection and construction of a water transfer system in or around the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.

That system could include the Peripheral Canal, which was killed by voters in 1982, or a new through-delta channel like the one proposed by Gov. George Deukmejian but rejected by the Legislature.

More likely, it would consist of the deepening and widening of existing delta channels, a step the Administration is already planning to take.

Ayala’s main bill was sent to the Appropriations Committee on a 7-2 vote. It would require the director of water resources to select a water transfer facility by July 1, 1988, and place it on a construction schedule by July 1, 1989.

A second bill, approved 6-2, would require the director to apply for a permit from the Army Corps of Engineers by July 1, 1988, to increase water shipments out of the delta through the California Aqueduct.

The third bill would bar the state Water Resources Control Board from reserving more water than needed to meet delta water-quality standards. That measure was approved 6-2 and 9-1.