Imperial District Delays Vote on Water Sharing

The Imperial Irrigation District, reflecting the caution of the farmers it serves, held off Wednesday on final approval of a plan to share water with the Metropolitan Water District.

Instead, Imperial directors voted 5 to 0 to submit the plan to a series of public hearings in the agricultural area east of San Diego before taking a final vote.

Nevertheless, officials of the MWD hailed the irrigation district’s action as a major step toward ending the dispute between the districts over sharing of Colorado River water.

Despite the Imperial district’s failure to approve the plan, Carl Baronkay, MWD general manager, said he is optimistic. “I regard it as the approval we sought,” he said.

Approved by MWD

As expected, the MWD board voted unanimously to approve the agreement and have Baronkay work with Imperial on a final version.

The MWD action was hailed by conservationists. “It was a good milestone,” said Thomas Graff, who heads the Environmental Defense Fund, which had long advocated such an agreement.

The approval of two smaller districts in the area, the Palo Verde Irrigation District and the Coachella Valley Water District, is also needed. Myron Holburt, who led the MWD negotiating team, said he believed the districts would go along, although he said they will take a close look at the proposed pact. Approval of the U.S. secretary of the interior is also required, but Holburt said the Interior Department supports the idea of Imperial and the MWD sharing water.

Under the proposal, the Imperial district would make available to the MWD 100,000 acre-feet of water a year. In return, the MWD, which serves urban, suburban and agricultural areas in Los Angeles, Ventura, Orange, San Diego, San Bernardino and Riverside counties, would give $10 million a year to construct water conservation facilities.

Forced by Circumstances

The agreement stems from a set of circumstances that pushed both sides into positions they once opposed.

The MWD had been urged by conservationists for years to reach such an agreement with Imperial. Conservationists maintained that the Imperial farmers were wasting a portion of their Colorado River share, letting it drain into the Salton Sea, 227 feet below sea level.

The MWD resisted such a plan until 1982 when voters rejected an expansion of the California Water Project.

The MWD obtains its water from the Colorado and from the water project, which imports Northern California water to the south. A U.S. Supreme Court decision reduced the MWD share of Colorado River water. With expansion of the water project stymied, the MWD had to look elsewhere to fill the water gap, and turned to the Imperial Valley.

At the same time, the state looked into complaints that the Imperial farmers were wasting part of their district’s Colorado River water.

Opposed by Farmers

Many of the big Imperial Valley farmers, who wield influence over the irrigation district, opposed the conservation measures. They denied wasting water and they expressed fear that a water-sharing agreement would mean they would be giving up water rights to Los Angeles and other urban coastal areas.

After the water wasting charges were aired at a hearing, however, the Imperial district began negotiations with the Metropolitan district.

Charles Shreves, general manager of the Imperial Irrigation District, said in a telephone interview that the Imperial board “always told the farmers that before we signed any agreement, we would hold hearings.”

Hearings will be held throughout the farming area, culminating in a final hearing Sept. 30. The board will vote after that hearing, Shreves said.