SACRAMENTO, CA — California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on November 9 signed a $11.14 billion water bond bill, which is part of California’s historic multi-bill package designed to overhaul the state’s stressed water system.

The bill is designed to give Californians more reliable water sources and restore the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, which supplies water to two-thirds of the state’s 36.7 million residents.

The referendum calls for voters to decide in November 2010 whether the state should invest $11.14 billion to finance the water system’s overhaul. The bond measure would be combined with federal and local monies for a total of $40 billion for water infrastructure projects, Bloomberg reported November 9.

During the bill-signing at Friant Dam, north of Fresno, Schwarzenegger said, according to Bloomberg, “This is long overdue. This is the linchpin of the water package. Today we are setting forth a bold vision of the future. I hope the people are going to be with us in passing these bonds.”

According to the Association of California Water Agencies (ACWA), the “Safe, Clean, and Reliable Drinking Water Supply Act of 2010” provides $455 million for drought relief; $1.4 billion for regional water supply projects; $2.25 billion for Delta restoration and sustainability; $3 billion for water storage projects; $1.79 billion for watershed conservation; $1 billion for groundwater cleanup and protection projects; and $1.25 billion for water recycling and conservation projects.

The governor this week is scheduled to sign other bills that are part of the water reform package, including conservation and Delta policy bills.

Last week, Schwarzenegger signed bills on groundwater monitoring and water rights enforcement that were also part of the legislative package.

To read the Bloomberg report, click here.

To access the ACWA Web site, click here.

For related information, click here.