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IID Board Members Assigned to Various Regional Boards Despite Tensions

/in , /by /The Desert Review (Imperial Valley)by Betty Miller

During Imperial Irrigation District Board meeting director comments, Norma Galindo commented from her remote distancing location, and started off memorializing recently passed, former IID General Manager, Kevin Kelley, then segued into a discourse about prayer.

“We talk about prayer, I don’t believe many do, or if they do, they pray for the wrong thing. I am troubled by the hypocrisy in our leadership when we talk about praying. We aren’t willing to talk with each other to resolve issues. It is a time to reflect, let bygones be bygones. I would hope Director Hamby would have the gumption to meet with me face to face to address issues. I know we can work together, and Director Hanks.”

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IID to Finalize Conserved Water Payments to Growers

/in , , /by /The Desert Reviewby Betty Miller

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.

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Upper Colorado River Drought Plan Triggered for First Time

/in , , /by /KUNC (Greeley, Colorado)by Luke Runyon

Increasingly bleak forecasts for the Colorado River have for the first time put into action elements of the 2019 upper basin drought contingency plan.

The 24-month study released in January by the Bureau of Reclamation, which projects two years of operations at the river’s biggest reservoirs, showed Lake Powell possibly dipping below an elevation of 3,525 feet above sea level in 2022. That elevation was designated as a critical threshold in the agreement to preserve the ability to produce hydropower at Glen Canyon Dam.

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Opinion: Lasting Colorado River Solutions Come from Main Street, Not Wall Street

/in , , /by /The Daily Sentinel (Colorado)by Dan Keppen, Scott Yates, Taylor Hawes

Sensational headlines, like those speculating that Wall Street will make billions off the Colorado River or that West Slope farmers should pack it in now, certainly attracts readers. Unfortunately, these articles wholly fail to convey the reality of the water challenges facing the Colorado River Basin.

As representatives of irrigated agriculture and conservation organizations, we deal with these issues every day. Often times, we do so through working partnerships with each other. Increasingly, we find these relationships are necessary to ensure that farms and ranches thrive and that rivers continue to support fish, wildlife, and recreation.

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Opinion: To Protect the Colorado River from Drought and Speculation, We Need to Collaborate

/in , , /by /The Denver Postby Rebecca Mitchell

Colorado is headwaters to a hardworking river that provides for 40 million people. The importance of the Colorado River to the state and the nation cannot be overstated, and its recent hydrology serves as a reminder that we must continue to find workable solutions that will sustain the river. History shows that we are up to the challenge.

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California’s Water Wars Serve As a ‘Bellwether’ for Colorado River Negotiations

/in , , /by /Agri-Pulseby Brad Hooker

After three decades of water wars in Southern California, policy experts hope a new era in collaborative management will offer inspiration for the ongoing and complex negotiations over Colorado River allocations amid a historic and deepening drought.

“Those lessons need to catapult us forward,” said Patricia Mulroy, former head of the Southern Nevada Water Authority, during the fall meeting for the Association of California Water Agencies in December. “These states, these constituencies, these communities cannot afford for these discussions to crater. Failure is not an option.”

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New Imperial Irrigation Board Seated Amid Tensions Over Labor Agreement

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

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.

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California’s Colorado River Water Users Do Not Have Traditional Water Rights

/in , /by /California Ag Todayby Sean Hood

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.

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Unions, Renova Energy, Family Money Try to Influence IID Board Election Via Campaign Cash

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

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.

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Milestone Colorado River Management Plan Mostly Worked Amid Epic Drought, Review Finds

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

Twenty years ago, the Colorado River Basin’s hydrology turned persistently dry, reservoir levels plummeted and a river system relied upon by nearly 40 million people, farms and ecosystems across the West was in trouble. So key players across the Basin attacked the problem. The result was a set of Interim Guidelines adopted in 2007 that, according to a just-released assessment, mostly worked to prevent forced water supply cuts. With the guidelines expiring in 2026, that assessment is expected to aid discussions as key players begin writing a new set of river operating rules.

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