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Gov. Jerry Brown’s misguided tunnel vision on the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta has taken the focus off other valuable water projects California should be implementing. Unlike the governor’s $17 billion twin-tunnel disaster, Assemblyman Richard Bloom’s AB 2480 would produce additional water for California, improve the state’s environment and help ward off or at least mitigate climate change. It’s a no-brainer of an idea that should have been prioritized years ago. The bill has passed the Assembly and is currently winding its way through the Senate. The Senate should pass the bill and send it to the governor for his signature.

To most people in the U.S., water is simply assumed. Without much thought, they turn on the shower, brush their teeth, make coffee or tea, flush the toilet, and grab a full, cold plastic bottle of name-brand water. Taking a bite of food or slipping on a cotton T-shirt does not inspire thoughts of water, its role in agriculture, or challenges to managing the nation’s water supply. But water is the lifeblood of agriculture, and plays an ever-increasing role in food availability, cost, food security, and national security… and competition for it is increasing as supplies decrease.

Critics and a state lawmaker say they want more explanations on who’s paying for a proposed $16 billion water project backed by Gov. Jerry Brown, after a leading California water district said Brown’s administration was offering government funding to finish the planning for the two giant water tunnels.

Earlier this summer, researchers at UC-Davis confirmed what a lot of us already know—that saving water saves energy. The analysis from the UC-Davis Center for Water-Energy Efficiency found that California’s mandatory 25 percent reduction in urban water use, which was adopted in May 2015 due to the ongoing severe drought, resulted in significant energy and greenhouse gas savings. From June 2015 to February 2016, the electricity saved by reducing urban water use is estimated to have been nearly 922 gigawatt-hours.