By Barry Eberling, Fairfield Daily Republic

State Sen. Lois Wolk has proposed a $5.6 billion state water bond, one that includes no money for the controversial proposal to build twin tunnels to take water exports under the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.

Instead, Wolk, D-Vacaville, proposes to spend $1.5 billion on safe drinking water projects, $1.8 billion on water quality and watershed projects, $1.3 billion on flood control and $1 billion for water system operations improvements such as groundwater storage and recycled water storage.

Senate Bill 42 prohibits using bond money to build or do mitigation for a new water conveyance project.

Wolk wants this $5.6 billion bond to replace the $11 billion state water bond scheduled to go before voters in 2014. The state Legislature agreed to that $11 billion bond measure in 2009.

But Wolk has long criticized the 2009 bond measure, saying items got added by the Legislature in the middle of the night to win passage. It has such items as $3 million for a Lake Tahoe water taxi. Wolk last year said her bond proposal wouldn’t be a Christmas tree or bloated.

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