Over two decades, I’ve watched opponents resist San Vicente Dam, the Carlsbad Desalination Plant, Olivenhain Reservoir, San Diego Pure Water and other projects because they refused a meaningful, fact-based dialogue. Thankfully, in each of those cases, a rational, long-term approach to securing our future prevailed.
It would be arguably the most ambitious public works project in San Diego history.
The envisioned pipeline would carry Colorado River water more than 130 miles from the Imperial Valley — through the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, tunneling under the Cuyamaca Mountains, and passing through the Cleveland National Forest — to eventually connect with a water-treatment plant in San Marcos. An alternative route would run through the desert to the south, boring under Mount Laguna before emptying into the San Vicente Reservoir in Lakeside.
A constant agenda item for the Imperial Irrigation District and local growers and landowners has been the payment of conserved water, the On Farm Efficiency Conservation Program. Part of the Quantitative Settlement Agreement of 2003 is the Valley’s commitment to conserve water to send to urban cities on the coast, which the beneficiaries pay. The conserved water was first done by fallowing, which was never a popular direction, but it was unknown how much of the agreed upon water transfer could be done by growers’ efforts.
President Donald Trump on Sunday signed a roughly $900 billion stimulus package meant to tackle both COVID-19 relief as well as federal spending. Tucked in the 5,593-page-long law, courtesy of Southern California Democrats, are provisions that hold the potential to unlock millions of dollars of new federal spending to address the Salton Sea.
The bill notably modifies the Water Resources Development Act by authorizing the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to expedite a study on the feasibility of constructing a perimeter lake around the Salton Sea. It’s one of the large-scale plans floated to address the lake’s woes, and this move could speed up the process.
The law also includes more than $150 million for the Army Corps to carry out such studies on water issues at the Salton Sea and elsewhere.
Red flags flutter outside the schools in Salton City, California, when the air quality is dangerous. Dust billows across the desert, blanketing playgrounds and baseball diamonds, the swirling grit canceling recess and forcing students indoors. Visibility is so poor you can’t see down the block. Those days worry Miriam Juarez the most.
Sparks were flying even before the Imperial Irrigation District’s newly elected directors were sworn in, and questions remain as to how the board’s two newest faces will fit into the powerful, five-member panel.
Community activist Javier Gonzalez’s and 24-year-old JB Hamby’s tenure got off to a rocky start on Dec. 4, as both skipped their official swearing-in ceremony because the district barred them from bringing guests due to COVID-19 precautions. Instead they held their own event in front of several dozen supporters, overseen by a superior court judge, on the steps of the Imperial County courthouse, which Hamby said was legally allowed under the California Water Code.
Farmer Michael Abatti v. Imperial Irrigation District is a landmark decision by the California Court of Appeals concerning the millions of acre-feet of Colorado River water used annually to meet the needs of Southern California’s agricultural empire.
The California Water Commission is holding public workshops as part of its efforts to assess a potential state role in financing conveyance projects that could help meet needs in a changing climate. A workshop in Southern California is scheduled for December 10 on Zoom.
The Commission’s goal with the workshops is to hear from diverse voices across the state. Participants from the region are encouraged to share their perspective on conveyance projects, conveyance infrastructure needs and priorities. The Commission also wants to learn about effective partnerships, public benefits of conveyance, possible criteria to assess resilience, efforts in preparing for changing hydrology, and effective financing mechanisms.
“As water managers, we are constantly refining strategies to meet the challenges of the future, and local and regional water conveyance is one of our most significant tools,” said Sandra L. Kerl, general manager of the San Diego County Water Authority. “It’s important that we come together to advance integrated conveyance and interconnectivity solutions in light of the changing climate so that we can enhance regional water supply resilience for generations to come.”
The workshops are not associated with the pending proposal to improve conveyance through the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.
The first workshop will focus on Southeastern California, including the Colorado River region and the Mono, Inyo and San Bernardino County region. The Southeastern California regional workshop will be co-hosted by the Imperial Irrigation District and the San Diego County Water Authority.
The workshops will be conducted via the web-based videoconferencing service Zoom. More detailed instructions on how to use Zoom and participate in the meeting can be found on the Commission website.
Additional workshops will be centered on Southern, Northern and Central California.
The nine-member California Water Commission uses its public forum to explore water management issues from multiple perspectives and to formulate recommendations to advise the director of the California Department of Water Resources, and other state agencies including the California Natural Resources Agency, on ways to improve water planning and management in response to California’s changing hydrology.
All workshops are from 2:45-5 p.m. (entry to meeting site opens at 2:30 p.m.)
Southeastern California (Colorado River, South Lahontan) – Tuesday, December 8, 2020 (registration open now)
Southern California – Thursday, December 10, 2020 (registration open now)
Northern California – Tuesday, January 12, 2021 (registration open December 14, 2020)
Central California – Tuesday, January 26, 2021 (registration open December 14, 2020)
Changes are coming to the powerful Imperial Irrigation District.
The dust is still settling on the 2020 election, with some votes still to be counted, but after one incumbent on the board of directors fell in the primary, a second is losing in the general. The board likely will see two new directors seated, reshaping the direction of an agency that delivers both water and electricity to a wide swathe of Southern California.
