204: Unglamorous but Essential

Proposition 204, the first of the voter initiatives on next month’s ballot, will not generate many sharply drawn television commercials or glossy mailers. But this measure, which would allow the state to generate $995 million through a general obligation bond issue to fund improvements in its water system, is essential to California’s economic future.

Proposition 204 would fund projects that emerged from the 1994 San Francisco Bay-San Joaquin Delta accords. This agreement governs the fragile estuary where the San Francisco Bay meets the delta of the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers. The bay-delta complex provides about 60% of the fresh water used in the state and is home to an array of marine, plant and animal life. Prior to the 1994 accords, the health of the bay-delta had steadily declined, endangering California’s water supply and environmental resources.

The accords ended decades of fighting between historical water foes over issues such as how water should be allocated between cities and farms and how restoration of wildlife habitat should be balanced against agricultural use. Proposition 204 would fund the first specific projects that resulted from the accords. Future projects would require additional funding mechanisms.

If 204 passes, the resulting projects will improve water quality, conservation and recycling, agricultural drainage, river parkways, levees, ground-water recharge, and fish and wildlife habitat. This is not glamorous stuff; most Californians will probably not even see the pipes, levees, pumping stations or other hardware. But every Californian will be affected, particularly Southern Californians for whom the delta represents a major source of drinking water.

Proposition 204 is so obviously in the state’s interest that it has gathered support from virtually every major business, agricultural, civic and environmental group, along with a truckload of politicians from both major parties. While the measure has virtually no opponents, neither has there been much of a campaign yet on its behalf. But passage is vital; vote yes on Proposition 204.