When the Senate took the final vote just before 6 a.m., it ended years of failed attempts to confront the state's growing water problems. 'This Legislature has accomplished something tonight that the Legislature hasn't accomplished in decades,' Senate Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, a Sacramento Democrat, told his bleary-eyed colleagues. Lawmakers worked through the night adopting a set of measures dealing with such diverse issues as urban water conservation, groundwater monitoring and management of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, the collapsing center of the state's complex plumbing system. Many of the package's provisions were weakened during weeks of negotiations and last-minute amendments to round up votes. But proponents said the legislation nonetheless represented the most comprehensive action the state has taken on water in decades. 'I am so proud that the Legislature, Democrats and Republicans, came together and tackled one of the most complicated issues in our state's history,' Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said in a statement. 'This comprehensive water package is an historic achievement.' The bond, which will go before voters next November, ballooned to $11.1 billion as legislative leaders sweetened it with something for every part of the state and every water interest. It sets aside $3 billion for new storage and $2 billion for ecosystem restoration in the delta. It would fund recycling and groundwater cleanup important to Southern California, pay for Salton Sea restoration and watershed projects on the Los Angeles and San Gabriel rivers. There is money for drought relief, Lake Tahoe, a dam removal project on the Klamath River in Northern California and Sierra foothill communities. 'I believe this measure has been so bulked up with pork it's going to sink,' Republican Assemblyman Chuck DeVore said in urging defeat of the bond proposal. It took several stabs at attracting the necessary two-thirds vote. Assembly members stood in clutches, lobbying reluctant colleagues during breaks. And they stripped out an earmark that was singled out as a particularly egregious example of largesse: $10 million for a Sacramento nonprofit associated with Steinberg that offers watershed and 'urban greening' programs to students. Republican State Sen. Dave Cogdill has pushed for a big water bond for years. He attributed success to a variety of factors this year: the drought, growing environmental constraints on pumping from the delta and the delta's mounting ecological crisis. 'It's been queued up for a while. It just took a number of things to put the pressure on to get it done,' he said. The conservation measure sets a goal of reducing overall urban per capita water use by a fifth by 2020. Agencies that fail to meet their target would not be eligible for state water grants and loans. California is the only Western state that doesn't regulate or monitor groundwater usage. The bill sets up a program to measure groundwater elevations, but does not force private property owners to provide monitoring information to the state or to local water agencies. 'Many of us would like to see a bill like this go much further,' said Assembly member Jared Huffman, a Democrat, conceding that it was a 'modest step.' A proposal to beef up enforcement of water rights and crack down on illegal diversions was gutted in the final hours. It adds funding for 25 new state enforcement officers and requires water users in the delta to report their diversions. But increased penalties and beefed-up enforcement powers for the state water board were dropped. The environmental groups most active on California water issues -- the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Environmental Defense Fund -- support the package. But other conservation groups such as the Sierra Club and Friends of the River have fought it, complaining that the policy overhaul is anemic and the bond's burden on the state's taxpayers too great. 