Roberti Seeks to Draft Water-Saving Plan : Legislation: Senate leader would cut usage for farms, purge polluted aquifers.

Senate Leader David A. Roberti plunged into the hazardous arena of California water politics Tuesday and proposed writing a new state plan to cope with the deepening drought and the demands of a rapidly expanding population.

“I don’t think there is anything more important facing the state of California,” the Los Angeles Democrat said. “It is clear that California desperately needs a water plan.”

The veteran Senate leader outlined his goals for the 1991-92 legislative session to reporters in what amounted to his own State of the State address. Gov. Pete Wilson is to give a formal State of the State address today.

First, Roberti proposed mandatory water conservation for farmers and other agricultural users. He did not specify how deeply agriculture might be cut back. But he said he had been told that “much of the urban problem would be solved” by a 10% agricultural reduction. About 85% of California’s water is put to agricultural uses.

Second, he said, vast aquifers of Southern California water have been rendered virtually unusable by pollutants, and these natural underground storage vaults must be purged to be made pure again. He did not say how this would be financed.

Last, he said additional ways of storing water would be required in “areas where we have major water reserves.” This was an apparent reference to Northern California watersheds, the chief sources of state Water Project deliveries to Southern California.

Roberti said that any new water plan must contain a “growth management” element but said that he has not worked out the details.

He conceded that any development of additional supplies of water would not include a proposed “Peripheral Canal,” a traditional flash point for legendary North vs. South water battles.

“Certainly there are not the votes to do (the canal) right now . . . but that doesn’t mean we should ignore everything else that we could be doing,” Roberti told reporters.

A Peripheral Canal proposal, defeated by the voters in 1982, would tap additional supplies of Sacramento River water and route them around the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta for delivery to San Joaquin Valley farms and the populated south. Environmentalists and northerners have fought the idea for more than three decades as an unnecessary “raid.”

Roberti, as a Southern California legislator, generally favors developing additional sources of water, tempered by a keen concern for protection of the environment.

He told reporters that although the California drought is heading into its fifth year, its increasing severity has not been fully grasped by policy-makers and residents. “Nobody thinks it is that serious,” he said, his voice rising passionately. He warned that permanent and disruptive water restrictions are probably in store.

“The public is going to demand that the Legislature take action, so we might as well be ready now,” Roberti said. He added, however, that writing a politically acceptable water plan probably would take two years.

Historically, California has been able to recover from droughts with relative ease because the population was much smaller, Roberti said. The last drought occurred in 1977 and some experts estimate that the severity of the current drought will equal or surpass it.

“We have right now maybe the longest drought in recent memory and a population that is 15%-20% higher than it was 20 years ago. We can’t recoup,” Roberti said. “At some point, people are going to recognize that this is serious.”

On other topics, Roberti said in any tax discussions with Wilson on overcoming the state budget deficit, he would propose closing loopholes that benefit business. These include removing the sales tax exemption from candy, taxing airline jet fuel and wiping out the business tax credit.

He also said he would vote for moving the presidential primary in California from June to March, a proposal he quietly opposed until recently. But he rated passage of such legislation at “not too much better” than even odds.