C L E A N W A T E R

The San Francisco Bay/Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta system supplies 20 million people with water and is home to a rich array of fish and wildlife. The new funding is aimed at improving water management and restoring ecological health to the Bay-Delta. Illustration provided courtesy of the CALFED Bay-Delta Program.

SB 900 (Costa) Safe, Clean, Reliable Water Supply Act of 1996, the largest bill for California water bond funding in 36 years, will provide $995 million dollars in obligation bonds to finance water programs, facilities, and projects. The CALFED Bay-Delta Program will be receiving approximately $390 million of the total bond funding, while the remainder will go towards water recycling, clean water projects, flood control and prevention, and water conservation and groundwater recharge programs.

"For cities, it means continued safe and reliable water supplies for domestic, municipal and industrial needs. For agriculture, it means continued adequate long-term supplies at a reasonable cost, and for the environment, it means the continued protection of California's most treasured resources," explains Governor Pete Wilson. The bill passed with 63% of the votes as Proposition 204 in the November 1996 elections.