Local Assemblyman Kevin Jeffries, R-Lake Elsinore, has been appointed by his colleagues to serve on the newly created Assembly Republican Working Group on Water Storage.

With recent record low rainfall totals combined with court rulings restricting the flow of water to both urban and rural users, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has called a special session of the state Legislature to focus on water storage.

Jeffries applauded the move, saying in a written statement, "It is time to provide a stable source of water for our growing population, and to finally find a solution to the problems of the Sacramento Delta where fish are being protected at the expense of families and farms."

A judge last month ordered a significant reduction in water pumping from the Sacramento Delta, the source of two-thirds of the state's drinking water, to protect the endangered delta smelt.

Before being elected in 2006 to the state Assembly, Jeffries served for 16 years on local and regional water boards, including the Elsinore Valley and Western municipal water districts.