The Legislative Perspective

State Sen. Don Perata insulted water agency officials and water users throughout California recently when he said we have not even begun to make a dent in water conservation activities ("Democrats oppose new dams in California, favor conservation,'' Jan. 26).

According to the Association of California Water Agencies, California has been on the leading edge of water conservation for years and saves 700,000 acre-feet of water per year, enough for about 5.5 million people. In addition, today's farmers conserve water with high-efficiency irrigation systems growing high-value crops.

But without new storage, California will be short 1 million to 2 million acre-feet of water per year during a normal year and even more during a drought. The time for new reservoirs to store water is now.