Wilson Urges All Californians to Save Water

Gov. Pete Wilson urged Californians on Saturday to take shorter showers to save water, while U.S. Sen. John Seymour said he is pushing for federal aid for farmers who can’t plant their crops.

“We’re going to beat this drought and we’re going to do it together,” the Republican governor said in his weekly radio address.

Wilson said the state Drought Action Team he named last week is scheduled to make its recommendations by Feb. 15 on how federal and state assistance can be used to help cities and farmers, protect resources and fight the inevitable forest fires.

“Major efforts may be required to reallocate water to assure we meet our first priority, which is sufficient water for the health and safety of all Californians,” Wilson said.

Seymour, a Republican from Orange County, toured the Folsom Lake and Lake Oroville reservoirs with state water officials. Folsom is at 15% of capacity and Oroville is at less than 25%.

He said he was pushing for federal aid that could include unemployment benefits for farm workers put out of work by the drought, low-interest loans for farmers to drill wells and subsidies for farmers not to grow crops.

In his weekly radio address, Assembly Speaker Willie Brown commended Wilson for his task force and said the Legislature must pass not only strict conservation measures, but also “long-range growth-management plans that balance the needs of all Californians, whether they use water by the glass or by the acre-foot.”

“We must now commit to a comprehensive bipartisan, multiregional approach that, unlike last week’s rain supply, is neither too little nor too late,” said Brown (D-San Francisco).