Pared-Down Water Plan to Be Submitted in 1987

SACRAMENTO — Gov. George Deukmejian’s Administration is preparing to submit a new water package to the Legislature in 1987, a stripped-down version of the plan that failed in 1984, according to David N. Kennedy, director of the state Department of Water Resources.

The plan, contingent on Deukmejian’s reelection next year, would reverse the position the governor took after the stinging rebuke of a year ago, when he blamed Democratic lawmakers for the defeat. He said then that it would be up to the Legislature to produce an acceptable plan for supplying the state’s water needs.

But now the Administration is once again gearing up to take the initiative on the water issue. The package would contain three key elements:

– Authorization for $300 million in Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta projects needed to ship additional surplus water south.

– A commitment to help maintain and restore deteriorating delta levees.

– Environmental protections for San Francisco Bay.