With only 11 days to go in the session, lawmakers starting Tuesday will make a final stab at reaching a deal to solve the state's water woes.

Legislative leaders are expected to name a 14-member Senate-Assembly committee that will be tasked with completing a plan by Sept. 8 that would be sent straight to the Senate and Assembly floors for a vote.

The first hearing is tentatively scheduled for tomorrow afternoon/evening and it's possible the committee will meet over Labor Day weekend.

Lawmakers have held informational hearings and have met behind closed doors with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's administration officials. But Republicans and Democrats still must overcome major differences.

Democrats, who will control the conference committee, are pushing for an independent council to oversee the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, the source of farm and drinking water for much of the state.

Republicans are skeptical about creating such a council, which they fear would block a proposed canal that would pump water around the delta southward. Delta residents, who strongly oppose the canal, look at the council very differently -- they worry its sole mission would be to build a canal.

So negotiations will likely center on the council's makeup and powers.

Another sticking point is finances.

Gov. Schwarzenegger says he won't sign any bills that don't include a bond to pay for water projects such as dams, which have long been favored by Republicans but opposed by Democrats. Previous bond proposals have run near $10 billion. But Democrats -- if they agree to a bond at all -- will likely push for a smaller dollar amount.

But here's the key hurdle: Republicans want the money appropriated continuously -- i.e. without yearly legislative review -- because they fear Democrats will never disburse money for dams. Democrats in past years have fought for the yearly oversight.