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Opinion: Concerning the Colorado River

/in , , /by /Pagosa Daily Post (Pagosa Springs, Colorado)by J.B. Hamby

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.

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IID Begins Second Wave of Sheltering Employees at Work

/in , , /by /NBC Palm Springsby Taylor Martinez

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.

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Shelter in Place IID Employees to Return Home

/in , , /by /KYMA-TV (El Centro, Calif.)by Alexandra Rangel

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.

Well-Known Salton Sea Origin Story Questioned by New Research

/in , , /by /Palm Springs Desert Sunby Mark Olalde

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.

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Opinion: Customers are Paramount in Imperial Irrigation District COVID-19 Response

/in , , /by /Palm Springs Desert Sunby Norma Sierra Galindo

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.

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Essential IID Employees Living On Job Site to Stay Protected

/in , , /by /KYMAby Alexandra Rangel

Essential workers at Imperial Irrigation District, are now living at their job site in order to stay protected from the coronavirus.  According to IID, they will be housing 32 employees who are vital in providing Imperial County residents with water and energy.

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As a Dying Salton Sea Spews Harmful Dust, Imperial Valley Water Wars Heat Up Again

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Sammy Roth

The people of California’s Imperial Valley can be as unforgiving as the region’s harsh desert climate. It’s been 16 years since Bruce Kuhn cast the fateful vote to transfer tens of billions of gallons of Colorado River water from the valley’s sprawling farms to thirsty coastal cities, reshaping water politics in California and across the West.

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California Pilot Plant Could be Churning out ‘Sustainable’ Lithium as Early as 2023

/in , /by /Energy Storage Newsby Andy Colthorpe

Following recent reports that newly accessed geothermal power resources in California could also provide access to lithium as a valuable by-product, a pilot facility is now in development.

Resource developer Controlled Thermal Resources recently signed a power purchase agreement for 40MW of geothermal energy with Imperial Irrigation District, a water – and energy – provider in Southern California.

CTR is also now creating Hell’s Kitchen Co, facilities for lithium extraction and chemical processing at its geothermal plant at Imperial Valley’s shallow, saline Salton Sea. CTR has now partnered with technology provider Lilac Solutions, which has its own proprietary ion exchange technology, to open up a pilot plant to extract lithium from the run-off geothermal brine

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Imperial County Officials Say They’re Prepared To Prevent Spread Of Coronavirus

/in , /by /inewsource (San Diego)by Jennifer Bowman

For Luis Olmedo, environmental justice work must continue during a pandemic — especially in Imperial County.

The executive director of Comite Civico de Valle was on his way Tuesday morning to a county Air Pollution Control Board meeting, where he planned to watch on his phone outside and wait to enter the building until his organization’s agenda item came up. He was doing his part to help stop the spread of coronavirus by keeping his distance from others.

 

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Lithium Startup Backed by Bill Gates Seeks a Breakthrough at the Salton Sea

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Sammy Roth

David Snydacker knew going in that California’s Imperial Valley was a “graveyard for lithium-extraction technologies.”

For years, companies had tried and failed to find a cost-effective way to pull the valuable mineral — a key ingredient in the batteries that power electric cars — from the naturally heated fluid deep beneath the Salton Sea. One of the most recent busts was Simbol Materials, a much-hyped startup that collapsed in 2015 shortly after Elon Musk’s Tesla Inc. offered to buy the firm for $325 million.

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