CA Fueled Sprawl By Over-Promising Water

In a unanimous ruling by the Third District California Court ofAppeal, part of the 1995 Monterey Amendments that revamped waterdeliveries between agricultural and urban agencies was struck down.Agreeing with environmentalists, the court reinforced the critique thatCalifornia has fueled excessive development by promising more water thanit can deliver. Based on a figure set in 1960, that state set outprojections of a 4.23 million acre-feet water supply under the StateWater Project, a huge network of dams and aqueducts. That estimate isabout 60% more water than is currently supplied. As one of the leadinggroups in filing the lawsuit, Planning and Conservation League executivedirector Jerry Meral said the impact of the ruling will depend on theresponse of the Davis administration and whether state and localagencies will plan with more realistic water limits.