Before some members of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California voted this week to spend $11 billion on a new water project, several of them got a call from Gov. Jerry Brown urging them to support the project. For decades, Brown has been working to improve the north-south water delivery system created by his late father, Gov. Pat Brown. His solution is a pair of underground tunnels to help move water. Brett Barbre, a Metropolitan board member from Orange County who whipped votes in favor of the project, said it had support from about 52 percent of the board going into the weekend. That was enough to pass, but barely.