The California legislature voted Monday to keep the Salton Sea in its budget proposal sent to Governor Gavin Newsom. Assemblymember Eduardo Garcia said he’s pleased the legislature found a way to allocate some funding for the Salton Sea despite the fiscal challenges created by the pandemic.
Water is power in California’s Imperial Valley, and a years-long fight over allocations from the Colorado River to the agriculture-heavy region landed back in court on Friday. Attorneys representing local farmers and the Imperial Irrigation District squared off in front of a three-judge panel at the state appellate court level over a water-rights lawsuit expected to be decided in 90 days.
A draft report released today by the San Diego County Water Authority shows that building a new conveyance system to transport regional water supplies from the Colorado River Quantification Settlement Agreement is cost-competitive with other long-term options for meeting the region’s water needs.
The draft Phase A report is under review by water officials across the region. The Water Authority’s Board of Directors is expected to decide whether to move to Phase B at its July 23 meeting.
“By releasing this draft report – along with an independent review of key financial assumptions – we are trying to spark a thoughtful dialogue about our region’s water future,” said Dan Denham, deputy general manager for the Water Authority. “Given the long lead time for major water infrastructure projects, it’s important that San Diego County wrestle with these complex questions today so we can control our own destiny tomorrow.”
A draft report released today by the San Diego County Water Authority shows that building a new conveyance system to transport regional water supplies from the Colorado River Quantification Settlement Agreement is cost-competitive with other long-term options for meeting the region’s water needs.
The draft Phase A report is under review by water officials across the region. The Water Authority’s Board of Directors is expected to decide whether to move to Phase B at its July 23 meeting.
“By releasing this draft report – along with an independent review of key financial assumptions – we are trying to spark a thoughtful dialogue about our region’s water future,” said Dan Denham, deputy general manager for the Water Authority. “Given the long lead time for major water infrastructure projects, it’s important that San Diego County wrestle with these complex questions today so we can control our own destiny tomorrow.”
The Phase A report is the result of technical and cost analysis by Black & Veatch Corp. and the economic analysis by Water Authority staff. The engineering firm conducted similar studies for the Water Authority dating back to 1996, assessing “single use” water-delivery projects in those studies. The current Phase A analysis looks at conveyance projects with multiple partnership possibilities and potential benefits for the environment, water agencies and others.
Three potential pipeline routes were studied in Phase A, and the draft report says two alternatives (3A and 5A) are cost-competitive with other options, such as relying more on Metropolitan Water District of Southern California or developing additional local supplies.
Phase A takes a conservative approach to cost protections, by not factoring in potential partnerships or other sources of funds. However, partnerships and other agreements could significantly reduce the cost and enhance the value of a regional conveyance system. Phase B would include more detailed analysis of potential partnerships and funding opportunities and more details about projected costs from MWD.
“A decision about the Regional Conveyance System cannot be made in the abstract,” said Kelly Rodgers, director of the Water Authority’s Colorado River Program. “It must be made based on a comparison of the available alternatives, and we look forward to additional analysis and perspectives from our member agencies in the weeks ahead.”
The Water Authority currently pays MWD to transport QSA water through the Colorado River Aqueduct to San Diego. The regional conveyance system would be designed to convey the QSA water, which in 2021 will reach its full amount of 280,000 acre-feet of water annually. The current Water Transfer Agreement between the Imperial Irrigation District and the Water Authority continues to 2047. Both agencies can agree to extend the transfer another 30 years to 2077.
Each of the potential conveyance routes would connect to the tail end of the All-American Canal where it meets the Westside Main Canal in the southwest corner of Imperial Valley.
Two of the routes would follow a southern corridor between the Imperial Valley and San Diego, with one route over the mountains paralleling the U.S./Mexico border and the other tunneling through the mountains. Both routes would end at the San Vicente Reservoir in Lakeside.
The third and northernmost route would follow the Westside Main Canal toward the Salton Sea, then flow past Borrego Springs, and through the mountains. It would eventually connect to the Water Authority’s Twin Oaks Valley Water Treatment Plant in San Marcos.
To read the report, go to https://www.sdcwa.org/colorado-river-supplies-management.
Imperial Irrigation District extends its voluntary on-site shelter-in-place program at designated critical facilities for a core group of employees.
In the third phase, 10 employees will work 12-hour shifts over 21 consecutive days at IID facilities 24 hours a day.
The sheltered employees will continue to maintain the district’s essential water and energy operations for customers who rely on these services in the harsh desert climate of the Imperial and Coachella Valleys.
My name is JB Hamby and I am a general election candidate for the Imperial Irrigation District Board of Directors and fourth-generation resident of the Imperial Valley.
I read Mr. Hudson’s op-ed, “Clean Drinking Water, Considered, Part Five” and share much of his skepticism regarding the conversation happening along the Colorado River, its tributaries, and the special interests that surround it.
However, I did want to reach out and share some concerns with a few points raised in the editorial — specifically the comments on Imperial Valley.
Imperial Irrigation District, California’s third largest public power provider and the largest irrigation district in the nation, will be extending its voluntary on-site shelter-in-place program at designated critical facilities for a core group of employees.
To keep employees safe and to ensure that the district’s water and energy systems remain operational during the COVID-19 pandemic, 32 district employees have been living and working at their job sites since April 25.
Thirty-two Imperial Irrigation District (IID), employees committed to serving the community are finally going home after three weeks of fully committing to living at their job site to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
The IID’s shelter in place program housed 32 essential employees in individual trailers.
All this was done to make sure employees stay protected in order to continue to bring water and energy to the 400,000 people they serve in the Imperial and Coachella Valley.
The origin of California’s largest lake is a well-known tale. In an attempt to turn the desert into lush farmland more than a century ago, humans tried — and temporarily but dramatically failed — to exert control over nature.
“The Salton Sea in south California was created in 1905 when spring flooding on the Colorado River breached a canal,” NASA’s website spells out. For 18 months, the most important river in the West flowed along what appeared to be a novel course through the Salton Basin, which lies 227 feet below sea level.
Being born from an engineering miscalculation on the part of the California Development Company means the Salton Sea has been written off as an “accident” in histories inked on many pages, ranging from The Washington Post to the Daily Mail.
But that framing is too simplistic, new research suggests, arguing that the sea’s formation was inevitable, regardless of the famous canal breach in 1905.
The situation with COVID-19 continues to evolve and is having a significant impact on our customers and community. IID is monitoring developments closely, and as an essential services provider, is open and well prepared to continue serving all its customers.
On March 21, the IID Board of Directors adopted a resolution proclaiming a local emergency associated with COVID-19. This ensures the continuation of IID’s critical water and electric services under the California Emergency Services Act.
As part of our Pandemic Response plan, the district initiated a shelter-in-place program for critical employees. A small group of volunteer employees, who possess specialized skills to operate the district’s water and energy delivery systems, will remain at critical job sites 24-hours-a-day for three weeks working to ensure that our water and energy delivery systems remain operational while they stay healthy.
This extra step is part of how IID is working to carry out our mission to deliver energy to our customers in the Imperial and Coachella valleys. It also ensures the continued year-round delivery of Colorado River water from the All-American Canal to the Coachella Canal that supports farming operations in both valleys.
