‘Well Done’ to a Water Warrior

When former Arizona Gov. Bruce Babbitt dropped out of the 1988 presidential contest, The Times remarked editorially, with tongue in cheek, that he should be anointed California’s water czar. Babbitt had wrought near-miracles in bringing warring groups together to complete the Central Arizona Project and to stem the alarming decline in that state’s water tables. As an Arizonan, it was suggested, he could bring the canny sense of the knowledgeable foe to California’s multiple water problems, which had locked farmers, urban water managers and environmentalists in bitter dispute.

That didn’t happen, but for the past eight years Babbitt has pretty much done the job anyway in his role as President Clinton’s Interior secretary. Traveling to California perhaps more often than even Clinton, Babbitt and his aides worked with Govs. Pete Wilson and Gray Davis and the state’s water leaders to solve seemingly intractable problems. During his tenure, amazing progress has been made.

Babbitt put the cap on his achievements this month when he delivered his sixth annual address to the Colorado River Water Users Assn. in Las Vegas. The Arizonan spoke of the last decade as the “the most intensive [period] of change and transition in nearly half a century” on the Colorado, where water wars--legal and otherwise--are a tradition.

Humbly, Babbitt did not mention his own role in forging the agreements affecting Southern California and the Colorado, a major source of water supply for the region’s farms and cities. But forge them he did.

Babbitt and Interior Undersecretary David Hayes helped bring about the landmark pact that will allow San Diego to bolster its fragile water supply with a fresh source of Colorado River water from the Imperial Irrigation District. To achieve that, they had to broker an end to the long-term feud between Imperial and the neighboring Coachella Valley Water District over how much each was to get from the river.

These agreements made it possible for California to develop a 15-year plan to live within its annual legal allotment of Colorado River water, 4.4 million acre-feet a year. (Arizona will get 2.8 million and Nevada about 300,000 acre-feet). California has been taking far more than its share for years.

Without this deal, the other Colorado River basin states were set to pressure the federal government to cut California to its 4.4 million acre-foot allotment immediately--something that could cause severe shortages in Southern California.

Babbitt also was the key player in holding together the CalFed plan to solve long-term water and environmental problems in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and San Francisco Bay. The goal is to restore the environment, revive endangered species and stabilize water deliveries to farmers in the San Joaquin Valley and the cities of Southern California. CalFed still faces severe problems, but with Babbitt’s help it has been established as the vehicle for change and improvement.

Babbitt was back in California last week to announce another critical action, the reallocation of water in the Trinity River in the far north of California to keep a 40-year-old promise to the Hoopa Valley and Yurok Indian tribes. Part of the Trinity was diverted years ago to provide additional farm water in the San Joaquin Valley, with pledges to protect the river’s salmon migration. In fact, the salmon runs were devastated but will now be restored.

Though Babbitt never became California’s water czar, he has served this state well, along with other states in the West.

As Interior secretary, Babbitt has used grace, good humor, optimism, experience and gentle toughness to bring about resolution of California water problems that had defied solution for years.

In his Las Vegas speech, he said, “As individuals, we pass quickly from the scene” while the river rolls on. For all the accomplishments, there is even more to be done, Babbitt acknowledged. Perhaps, but Bruce Babbitt has shown the way, and for that all Californians should be grateful.