Governor Schwarzenegger’s letter to Interior Sec. Ken Salazar is a telling story of the kind of frustration that comes with trying to balance environmental, agricultural, and municipal water supply interests of a state’s finite water resources.  The situation in California is a serious one and you can see the Governor’s frustration in this letter.  The point to be made for this blog, however, is that Gov. Schwarzenegger’s frustrations are nothing new to anyone who has ever had to plan for long-term water supplies for his/her community.  Ten to twenty-year lead times between concept and construction are the rule and longer waits abound.  These water supply projects, too, are among the very most expensive that any community, be it Los Angeles or Hometown USA, will ever consider.  These are major capital expenditures that communities can plan for and although the costs of these things are fuzzy when looking 20-years ahead, one important thing to do is to start letting your ratepayers know what is in store them.  Aligning long-range financial planning with long-range resource plans is essential; it’s a process that will help you figure out your financing options and understand clearly just how much will be required from ratepayers.  That way, when the time for design and construction approaches and rates have to be adjusted, there is less surprise for everyone.