San Joaquin Delta scores temporary win

An $11 billion water bond that would likely help build a canal to ship water around the dying Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta will be delayed — at least by two years.

The effort to but the bond on the November 2010 ballot was losing steam, and the state Legislature figured there's a better shot of it passing if it's put on the 2012 presidential ballot.

But delay or no delay, the proposed vision of a Delta further drained and diverted isn't a healthy one. That remains the same, no matter how long the proposal is shelved.