Share
In his Jan. 29 CALmatters column, Dan Walters describes the challenges facing Gov. Jerry Brown’s $70 billion High-Speed Rail Project and his Delta tunnels effort.
Walters notes that “During his second governorship, Jerry Brown has frequently touted big public-works projects as the mark of a great society — a marked change from his first stint four decades ago, when “small is beautiful” and “lower your expectations” were his oft-voiced themes.”
Walters opines of the over-budget, seven-years-behind-schedule bullet train: “Public support for the bullet train is scant and, in truth, it seems to be a solution in search of a problem rather than the vital transportation system Brown portrays it as being.”
Delta Water Project Needed But Lacks Funders
In Walters’ view, however, “the need for some sort of water conveyance around or under the Delta has been evident for decades. Pulling water out of the estuary has created no end of environmental problems, leading to court-ordered reductions in diversions that have sometimes left water users short of what they needed.”
The rub is, the expense of Delta tunnels has eroded support from water districts that would help fund construction.
“With the exception of Southern California’s Metropolitan Water District, other major beneficiaries of the tunnels, which would supposedly improve reliability of the system, are shying away from committing to many billions of dollars in cost,” Walters writes.
“The defection has become so serious that Brown’s Department of Water Resources is now contemplating reduction to a single tunnel, hoping that its less expensive cost would bring the straying sponsors back.”
You can read Walters’ entire column at this link.
Mexican National Caught in Fresno County Pleads Guilty to Fentanyl Trafficking
2 hours ago
CA Snowpack Is Near-Average. What Does This Mean for Water Supplies?
3 hours ago
Shohei Ohtani Adds Another No. 1 to His Resume: MLB’s Best-Selling Jersey
3 hours ago
Tush Push Is the Hottest Topic at the NFL League Meetings
3 hours ago
U.S. Bank Executive Terry Dolan Dies in Plane Crash Near Minneapolis
4 hours ago
Former MLB Pitcher CJ Wilson of Fresno on New Torpedo Bats: ‘Still Room for Innovation’
4 hours ago
Man Arrested After Shooting at Fresno’s Switch Nightclub
5 hours ago
Braves’ Jurickson Profar Hit With 80-Game PED Ban
42 minutes ago
Categories

Braves’ Jurickson Profar Hit With 80-Game PED Ban

The Mystery of Melania Trump’s Wedding Dress and an eBay Sale

Mexican National Caught in Fresno County Pleads Guilty to Fentanyl Trafficking

CA Snowpack Is Near-Average. What Does This Mean for Water Supplies?

Shohei Ohtani Adds Another No. 1 to His Resume: MLB’s Best-Selling Jersey

Tush Push Is the Hottest Topic at the NFL League Meetings
