Friant Dam - With the stroke of a pen, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger put an end to decades of debate over water and put into action, a plan to fix the state's water crisis.
The Governor signed the pieces of legislation at Friant Dam, surrounded by Valley leaders.
“The Central Valley is the epicenter of this crisis, fields lie fallow, communities are devastated. I have heard the pleas of the people of this valley,” said Gov. Schwarzenegger.
But this isn't the end of the battle. In November 2010, voters will decide on an $11 billion bond.
One woman who protested at the signing, has already decided she will not vote for it.
Although the bill calls for building new waterways and water storage, it calls for removing a dam at the Klamath River, and doesn't guarantee a dam will be built at Temperance Flat.
“Another reason I'm not voting is because California is so much in debt right now, our children and grandchildren can't possibly pay for it,” said Chloe Foster of Clovis.
But comedian and Latino Water Coalition activist, Paul Rodriguez says, that is the exact reason he's voting for the bond.
“Because let's face it, the first dam many of us might not live to see it, we're talking 15-20 years for them to pass all the environmental studies, but we have put the cornerstone in. If we don't do this, our generation will survive, but our next generation, it won't be the same California,” said Rodriguez.
The governor also announced, he will extend his executive order, and make sure food distributions will continue in the Valley’s Westside into winter.
That's great news for valley families, but one valley mayor say, in the end, it's still not a solution.
“He said you're going to get additional food for the winter months, but that's not the answer, the question is how do you get people to work because people don't want to stand in those food lines,” said Mendota mayor Robert Silva.
The water bond will not raise taxes.
What it will do, is increase our debt to the general fund.
The thinking is, the bulk of the money won't actually be pulled out of the general fund until after 2015.
The state hopes the economy and state revenue increases by then and the burden of paying off the water bond won't be so harsh.
