The Sacramento Delta is a classic example of government’s ability to kick the can down the road. Mike Taugher has a nice overview today of the current state of play:

At least a couple of recent studies suggest California has, in recent years, bumped up against the upper limit of what it can take from the delta, and that the state’s farms and cities may have to get by with less.

One solution, according to state government and many of the state’s water agencies, is an initiative that seeks to revive the idea of building the peripheral canal, a highly controversial aqueduct around the delta that voters rejected in 1982. It would cost water users and taxpayers billions of dollars, and even then, it is possible cities and farms might not get more water, at least in dry years, as some experts contend.