Winston Churchill paid tribute to the young fighter pilots who staved off Nazi Germany's aerial assault on England during the Battle of Britain with characteristic eloquence: "Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few."

California politicians' machinations over water, still under way in the Capitol late Tuesday with a conclusion uncertain, inspires a parody of Churchill's immortal words, to wit: "Never in California's political history have so many politicians labored so long to produce so little."

The politicians were, of course, patting themselves on the back even before final enactment. Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, who had made settlement of California's water wars a personal crusade, hailed the package as "far-reaching legislation which has been decades in the making."

But even if enacted, which was still uncertain Tuesday night as amendments were being hastily written to satisfy demands from powerful interest groups and overcome stubborn opposition, the package falls well short of making definitive water policy.