Tag Archive for: Imperial County

Salton Sea Restoration Sparks Debate

/in , , /by /KYMAby Vince Ybarra

The Salton Sea has needed restoration for decades. Both Imperial County and Imperial Irrigation District (IID) agree something needs to be done, but the debate over precisely what action to take, is preventing much from happening at all.

In 2003, it was agreed water would be transferred from the Salton Sea to San Diego and Coachella. Imperial County Superviso Ryan Kelley tells me, after the transfer the seabed turned to dust. The wind then carried that dust, and the harmful components in it, towards Valley residents.

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Salton Sea Priorities Laid Out By Supervisor Perez

/in , /by /Patch.comby Toni McAllister

As the new president of the Salton Sea Authority board of directors, Riverside County Supervisor V. Manuel Perez says he will guide “continued efforts to advance habitat and dust suppression projects” at the Sea, and he has laid out his priorities.

At the June meeting of the Salton Sea Authority board of directors, Perez was elected by a unanimous vote to a one-year term as board president beginning July 1.

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IID’s New Coachella Valley Energy Commission Tackles Energy, Water Divide

/in , , /by /Palm Springs Desert Sunby Janet Wilson

Seeking to stave off legislation that would force Riverside County representation on its board of directors, the Imperial Irrigation District on Thursday convened the first meeting of its new Coachella Valley Energy Commission.

Undera long-term agreement with the Coachella Valley Water District, IID provides electrical power to 100,000 Coachella Valley residents. That pact expires in 2033, and the new commission’s overarching goal is to hammer out a way forward for those customers.

“As we approach the end of a 99-year arrangement … we must work together and adapt to changing circumstances and plan for a future of mutual benefit,” said IID Board of Directors Vice President J.B. Hamby, who chairs the new commission. “That’s not just overcoming perceived differences between Coachella and Imperial Valleys, but within the Coachella Valley as well. Our task is to overcome geography, wealth, backgrounds, and past differences as we plan our shared future.”

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Long Troubled Salton Sea May Finally Be Getting What it Most Needs: Action – and Money

/in , , /by /Water Education Foundation/Western Water by Gary Pitzer

State work to improve wildlife habitat and tamp down dust at California’s ailing Salton Sea is finally moving forward. Now the sea may be on the verge of getting the vital ingredient needed to supercharge those restoration efforts – money.

The shrinking desert lake has long been a trouble spot beset by rising salinity and unhealthy, lung-irritating dust blowing from its increasingly exposed bed. It shadows discussions of how to address the Colorado River’s two-decade-long drought because of its connection to the system. The lake is a festering health hazard to nearby residents, many of them impoverished, who struggle with elevated asthma risk as dust rises from the sea’s receding shoreline.

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Rep. Vargas: $3.2M for Salton Sea, New River in Bill

/in , /by /Holtville Tribune

Nearly $3.25 million in federal funding was preliminarily secured for separate project requests at the Salton Sea and the New River on Monday, July 12, according to the office of Congressman Juan Vargas, D-Chula Vista. The funding was part of a 2022 House Appropriations Energy and Water Subcommittee bill that included requests of $2.546 million for a major Salton Sea research project, $200,000 for a Salton Sea feasibility study, and $500,000 for planning and design phases for a potential New River restoration project, Vargas’ press release states.

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Dispute Over Water Rights Possibly Going to U.S. Supreme Court

/in , , /by /KYMAby April Hettinger

In today’s Home Grown, a local lawsuit over ownership of the Colorado River water might be taken higher to the U.S. Supreme Court. The Michael Abatti versus the Imperial Irrigation District (IID) lawsuit has been ongoing in the valley, disputing over whether water rights belong to the landowners or if they are controlled by the IID.

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IID Responds to False Caims of Private Property Right Ownership of Imperial Valley’s Water

/in , /by /The Desert Review

In what amounted to a routine request for more information, the clerk of the United States Supreme Court requested the Imperial Irrigation District to file a response to Michael Abatti’s petition for certiorari on Monday, April 26, according to a press release.

The following day, the Imperial County Farm Bureau issued a press release incorrectly suggesting that the US Supreme Court is concerned that the California Appellate Court’s ruling on the Abatti case would deprive Imperial Valley residents of water.

Among other things, the Farm Bureau’s statement and brief filed with the court suggested that Imperial Valley’s water rights are property rights enjoyed by those who own agricultural land and described doomsday scenario consequences if the Supreme Court does not intervene to create private property rights to water where none exist, according to the release.

Various users in the Lower Basin states of California, Arizona, and Nevada have contracts to divert water from the Colorado River dating back to the construction of the Hoover Dam. IID exclusively holds the contract with the United States to deliver water for beneficial use on lands in the Imperial Valley.
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Salton Sea Dust, Air Quality to Get Closer Look in California

/in , , /by /Bloomberg Lawby Emily C. Dooley

California’s shrinking Salton Sea is getting a closer look scientifically with the state, local air districts, and community groups examining air, water, and even dust from the parched shoreline where water was once plentiful.

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Dust Up Over Salton Sea Project at Red Hill Bay

/in , /by /KPBS San Diegoby Erik Anderson

When Imperial County officials broke ground on the Red Hill Bay project in 2015, it was heralded as the beginning of a new era around the Salton Sea. State officials were beginning a long-awaited restoration project that was projected to be done in two years. The 400-acre site on the eastern edge of California’s largest lake was underwater not too long ago, but water transfer and more efficient irrigation in the valley have cut the flow of water into the lake.

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State Water Project Takes Aim at Restoring Salton Sea, Alleviating Health Risks

/in , , /by /KPBS-FM/TVby Erik Anderson

California is spending more than $200 million to keep an unfolding ecological crisis from getting worse. The state wants to stabilize habitat along the southern bank of the Salton Sea, the state’s largest lake.

That is good news for nearby residents concerned about their health, but the restoration could also affect everyone who draws water from the Colorado River.

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