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A postwar refugee exodus to Palestine made Israel in 1948. Then, Israel made water.

The new nation had to. Its population exploded, placing extreme demand on land and water resources. For the production of food, especially, efficient use of water, and producing more where resources lagged, were essential. Author Seth Siegel’s 2015 book “Let There Be Water” chronicles Israel’s role as a developer of water technology and innovation. He suggests that other arid economies look at Israel as a model and follow the young nation’s path toward water security.

Sacramento mayoral candidate Darrell Steinberg has worked since July as an adviser to the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, the massive agency that partly relies on the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to serve more than 19 million south state residents.

Steinberg is the only person named as “key personnel” in the district’s contract with law firm Greenberg Traurig, where the former state Senate leader works, according to a copy of the contract obtained by The Sacramento Bee. His firm has been paid $90,000 since the contract began, at a rate of $10,000 a month, according to an invoice.

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.

On May 10, a California Court of Appeal upheld an earlier Superior Court dismissal of litigation challenging the Cadiz Water Project. The Cadiz, Inc. plan to conserve water that’s currently evaporating in the Mojave Desert would deliver new water to our communities in south Orange County as well as five other Southern California counties. After years of court challenges, the project’s opponents were told their arguments simply don’t hold water.