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The Imperial Irrigation District in Southern California is one of the parties to California's Colorado River Water Use Plan. The plan calls for the district to sell part of its Colorado River allocation to San Diego, in support of the plan's goal of using Colorado River water more efficiently. However, in December 2002 negotiations for the water transfer broke down. The district claimed it was being railroaded and objected to specific parts of the deal. The federal government then carried through on a threat to reduce water supplies. Interior Secretary Gale Norton cut Colorado water to Imperial County by 11%.
Imperial County, considered one of the poorest counties in California, depends heavily on the farming industry for its economic survival. Critics of Norton's actions say a cut in water from the Colorado River could damage the economy further and create an environmental disaster for the Salton Sea, which depends upon Colorado runoff to maintain habitats for wildlife.
Norton and her supporters claim that she was forced by long-standing water laws into making the cuts after the district failed to come to an agreement on the water transfer.
The Imperial Irrigation District sued the federal government in January 2003, accusing the Interior Department of illegally cutting the district's Colorado River supplies. In March, the judge found that the Bureau of Reclamation had acted improperly and ordered it to conduct a review in accordance with federal regulations. The Bureau's review found that farmers were not using water-saving practices, such as drip irrigation that are tradionally used in other regions where the water is not plentiful. On July 3rd, the Bureau of Reclamation ruled that Imperial Valley farmers are guilty of wasting water and should have their allocation of the river reduced by 9%. Farmers and Imperial Irrigation District officials immediately protested the ruling claiming the conclusion shows that federal officials favor urban water users over farmers and vowed to fight the decision in court.
Meanwhile, the Coachella Valley Water District, the San Diego County Water Authority, the Imperial Irrigation District and the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California continued to negotiate. Disputes about who would pay for the transfer as well as Salton Sea restoration projects became major sticking points through-out the summer. On Aug. 13, state and federal water officials tried to break through the impasse by telling the four Southern California water agencies they had just weeks to end years of bickering over the transfer of water or face permanent reductions in their supplies. San Diego, Coachella Valley and Imperial Valley water agencies blamed the delay on the Metropolitan Water District who they claimed was sabotaging the deal to maintain more control. To accelerate the process, the federal government promised to restore some of the Colorado River water normally sent to California and begin slow reductions, if the four agencies signed the agreement.
In early September, the Coachella Valley Water District, the San Diego County Water Authority,the Imperial Irrigation District and the
Metropolitan Water District signed the deal and submitted it to the California Assembly. It easily passed and two days later
went to the Senate where it was also passed and sent on to the Governor's office to be signed. Problems surfaced, however,
when the Imperial Valley agency atttempted to add a sentence to the agreement which said that the federal government will never again
try to reduce its allocation from the Colorado River in exchange for dropping a federal lawsuit against the
Department of the Interior and signing the deal. Governor Davis signed the package on Sept. 29. Imperial Valley approved the pact by a 3-2 vote on Sept. 10th. Reluctant Imperial Valley farmers agreed to idle their winter crops to set in motion the plan to transfer thousandsof acre-feet of water to San Diego and the Salton Sea beginning Dec. 1.
News Stories:
Opinion Pieces:
Key Websites
www.acwanet.com/
www.watertransfers.water.ca.gov/
www.crb.ca.gov/index.html
www.crwua.org/
www.iid.com/
www.ivpressonline.com
www.mwd.dst.ca.us/
www.sdcwa.org/
The project's publications include the Layperson's Guide to the Colorado
River (2001) and a biannual newsletter, River Report.
www.water-ed.org/coloradoriver.asp
Background
"Watershed:
Seven States Look at the Legacy of the Colorado," Humanities: the
Magazine of the National Endowment of the Humanities, v. 22, no. 5 (Sept.-Oct.
2001), p. 8(4)
"Where
is California Taking Water Transfers? [Editorial]," Journal of Water
Resources Planning and Management, v. 129, no. 1 (Jan.-Feb. 2003), p.
1-3.
"Quenching
the Big Thirst: Will a Plan to Curb California's Use of the Colorado River
Hold Water?" High Country News (Lander, Wyo.), v. 33, no. 10 (May
21, 2001), p. 1, 8-10, 12-13.
Cadillac Desert: the American West and Its Disappearing Water. Rev.
and updated. New York: Penguin Books, 1993.
Rivers of Empire: Water, Aridity, and the Growth of the American West.
1st ed. New York: Pantheon Books, c1985.
Selected
News Stories
A brief selection of 2002-2003 news stories and opinion pieces.
"Water Pact a Tough Swallow For
Imperial Valley Farmers."San Diego Union-Tribune,
Sept. 30, 2003.
"Peace At Last in Key Water Battle:
Cities, Salton Sea Win in Colarado River Fight."San Francisco Chronicle,
Sept. 30, 2003.
"Agency Seeks End to Water War;
Governor's Approval Advances Efforts to Promote Transfers From Farms to Parched Cities." Los Angeles Times,
Sept. 30, 2003.
"MWD Approves Plan to Reallocate Water: From Colorado River
." Los Angeles Times, Sept. 24, 2003.
"Hopes High
Imperial Will Follow" San Diego Union Tribune, Sept. 23, 2003.
"New Tatics Threaten Water Deal; Insistence That the U.S. Won't Try to Cut the Imperial Valley's Share of the Colorado
River Could Kill the Fragile Accord, Officials Say." Los Angeles Times, Sept. 12, 2003.
"Top Officials Says Imprial Valley Threatens Water Pact"San Diego Union-Tribune, Sept. 11, 2003.
"Senate Sends Historic Water-Sharing Deal to Davis" Associated Press, Sept. 11, 2003.
"The State Agencies Near Deal on Water: The Among Four Districts Would Allocate
the State's Share From the Colorado River" Los Angeles Times, Sept. 4, 2003.
"Water Officials Lash Out at MDW Over Aqueduct: Agency Refuses Use of Its Waterway
to Bring Some of Imperial Valley's Allocation of the Colarado River to Arid San Diego ," Los Angeles Times, Aug. 22, 2003.
"The State: Progress in Water Talks is Reported; Tentative Deal Involving Imperial Valley and San Diego Are Unveiled; But
Some Key Issues Remain Unresolved ," Los Angeles Times, Aug. 14, 2003.
South State Water Agencies Get Deadline For Pact ," San Francisco Chronicle, Aug. 14, 2003.
Imperial Farmers Should Get Less Water, U.S. Report Says," Los Angeles Times, July 4, 2003.
"Feds Seek
Imperial Water Cut; Unprecedented Decision Concludes Valley Farmers Waste Water," San Diego Union-Tribune, July 4, 2003.
Imperial Farmers Should Get Less Water, U.S. Report Says," Los Angeles Times, July 4, 2003.
"The New Water War: U.S. vs. California," California Journal,
, Apr., 2003, p. 40-44, 46.
"Imperial Farmers Sue Water Board, Accuse Metroplitan of stealing their water,"Associated Press,
, Mar.13, 2003.
"Surplus Water Losing Appeal, MWD Suspects: Agency Might Bow out of Talks
to Regain Use of Colorado River Supplies That Just Aren't Flowing," Los
Angeles Times, Feb. 20, 2003, pt. 2, p. 8.
"Water Worries Intensify: Disute: Pressure on an Imperial County District
and a Planned Bill Have Farmers Concerned," Press-Enterprise (Riverside,
CA), Jan. 23, 2003, p. A01.
"The Law and the River," New York Times, Jan. 18, 2003, p. A17.
"Pressure
Building on Water Agency: Bill Reflects Growing Impatience with Imperial District's
Stance," San Francisco Chronicle, Jan. 9, 2003, p. A3.
"State
Misses Water Deadline: Imperial Valley Votes to Share, But Others Don't Have
Time to OK Deal," San Francisco Chronicle, Jan. 1, 2003, p. A3.
"San Diego Must Share in Blame for Water Debacle," San Diego Union-Tribune,
Feb. 6, 2003, p. B-11:7, B-7:1, B-13:2, B-15:6.
Erie is a University of California San Diego political scientist and is writing
a book on the Metropolitan Water District.
"A Reliable Water Supply for San Diego, San Diego Union-Tribune, Jan.
26, 2003, p. G-3.
"Norton Wrong to Blame Water District" Seattle Post-Intellingencer,
Jan. 22, 2003, p. B5.
Prepared by the staff of the IGS Library.
Send comments to igsl@uclink.berkeley.edu.
Last Updated Sept. 2004.
No longer being updated.