A Secure H2O Flow

Water, the shortage thereof, is the most contentious strand of California history. Vicious bureaucratic battles about it have gone on for decades. But this week leaders of three big Southern California water agencies finally acknowledged that all would be losers if they failed to end their struggle over how much water each is entitled to use from the Colorado River. In the end, each agreed to sacrifice something and they came to a tentative deal. But if the region’s water future is to be secure, they must stand by the agreement as translated into legal language. Then the parties need to demonstrate to the other Colorado River Basin states that they are serious about living within their allocation of the river’s water.

Still ahead are ratification by the boards of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, the Imperial Irrigation District and the Coachella Valley Water District. Critically, the deal paves the way for Imperial to sell 200,000 acre-feet of farm water a year to the San Diego County Water Authority for urban use. (An acre-foot is an amount that would cover an acre to one foot of depth.) This transfer is vital to meeting growing water demands.

The major impact on Southern California is that the Metropolitan Water District will be able to continue importing 1.2 million acre-feet of Colorado River water a year for distribution in its six-county service area. That’s about one-third of the total used in the region. Without the pact, the MWD faced the prospect of having its Colorado allotment cut by more than half--enough water to serve more than a million households--creating shortages far more severe than in any modern drought. Such a loss would stunt economic growth, scaring off businesses and industries that rely on an assured supply of high-quality water.

California is entitled to draw 4.4 million acre-feet of water from the Colorado each year. But the state’s actual take soared as high as 5.3 million acre-feet as other basin states, especially Arizona, did not use their full shares. Now that has changed. The other states are protesting California’s chronic overuse and demanding that it live within the 4.4 million figure.

By itself, the new agreement will not ensure Southern California’s long-term water needs, as population and demand increase. But it does make the present supply secure. And the pact opens the door to a new era of farm-to-city transfers, greater conservation in the giant farm districts, storage in ground-water basins and other creative programs.

Special commendation is due Deputy Secretary of the Interior David Hayes and Thomas Hannigan, the state water resources chief, for keeping the negotiations going when the outcome looked bleak. And insiders said a key to the agreement was a fresh approach by the MWD’s new leadership, a welcome change from its foot-dragging of the recent past.

There is still much to do to make sure California has enough water in the long term. Settling the Colorado River issue will make the remaining problems easier to solve.