A closely watched effort to force a statewide vote on Gov. Jerry Brown’s water tunnels project was blocked Friday in the Assembly — a big victory for Brown in a year where the plan faces some key hurdles.

AB 1713 by Assemblywoman Susan Talamantes Eggman (D-Stockton) would have required voters to approve the construction of twin underground water tunnels in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta . The bill’s language would have meant a statewide vote as soon as 2018.

San Diego County Water Authority officials are in the midst of mapping out a long-term water supply plan that’s expected to look quite different from the document they drew up just five years ago. Some environmentalists worry those plans rely too much on energy-intensive sources like desalination.

Water officials say the region’s forecast for the year 2040 relies less on imported water from Los Angeles-based Metropolitan Water District of Southern California and more on local supplies that tap into recycling and possibly desalination.

San Diegans went from wastefully using water hoses to clean driveways and sidewalks to becoming a drought-conscience community that used a lot less water than expected in recent years. The low water demand is expected to linger for the next 25 years.

Some might assume lower water usage would mean lower water bills, but that didn’t happen.

In Carlsbad, two parcels of land have caused a number of headaches in recent months.

One is the south shore of the Agua Hedionda Lagoon, which – for those who somehow hadn’t heard – was slated for the development of a luxury mall. The plan to fast-track that project was ultimately defeated by voters.

Less than one mile down Cannon road is the Encina Power Station, which will be demolished when a smaller “peaker” style plant is constructed nearby, starting in 2017.