Drought or not, water remains king in the Imperial Valley
Randall McDaniel, 22, prepares to fish in Westside Main Canal, which brings irrigation water from the Colorado River into the Imperial Valley for farming. Modern irrigation -- aided by the Hoover Dam and the All-American Canal -- transformed the Imperial Valley from a hostile desert into an agricultural marvel. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
Throughout the West, a legal principle involving divvying up water holds “first in time, first in right.” When it comes to the Colorado River, the farmers and land speculators of the Imperial Valley were the first to see the potential of the river in a big way.
Lush green farms in Brawley, Calif., use water from the Colorado River. When it comes to water-rich areas with relatively few people, there is no place in the state quite like the Imperial Valley. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
Carson Kalin stands in his lush onion field in Brawley, where he farms 1,800 acres with his brother. With California in its fourth year of drought, Gov. Jerry Brown has avoided targeting farmers and their water usage. But some are beginning to wonder whether the clamor will soon build for redirecting farm water to more populous areas. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
Fidel Arizaga walks through water shooting from sprinklers irrigating an onion field in Brawley. Much of the nation’s winter vegetables are grown in the Imperial Valley. In 2014, 75 crops were grown, from alfalfa (142,594 acres) to bamboo (1 acre). (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
