Just north of the California-Mexico border, the All-American Canal cuts across 80 miles of barren, dune-swept desert. Up to 200 feet wide and 20 feet deep, the canal delivers the single largest share of Colorado River water to the fertile farmlands of the Imperial Valley.
Across the sun-cooked flatlands of the Imperial Valley, water flows with uncanny abundance. The valley, which straddles the U.S.-Mexico border, is naturally a desert. Yet canals here are filled with water, lush alfalfa grows from sodden soil and rows of vegetables stretch for miles.
Within this grid of greenery, near the desert town of Brawley, Mark McBroom grows 6,000 acres of hay crops, like alfalfa, and fruit orchards, all irrigated by water imported from the Colorado River.
The Imperial Irrigation District Board of Directors, James C. Hanks, shared in a statement on Thursday, regarding the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Camille Touton’s testimony on June 14 before the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources on the severity of the Colorado River drought and the need for short- and long-term drought solutions across the West.
“The current hydrological conditions on the Colorado River, which have entered the third decade of unprecedented drought, are well known and are not going unnoticed,” said Hanks. “Over the past two decades, Imperial Valley growers have been using less water while working to meet the nation’s food supply needs, conserving over 7 million acre-feet in support of the Colorado River and California water supplies.”
The Water News Network is San Diego County’s source for water news and information.
