NewsMax Staff
Monday, Dec. 30, 2002

Reportedly, Interior Secretary Gale Norton’s plan to throttle back the spigot is designed to nudge Imperial Irrigation District and three other water agencies to share their water with thirsty San Diego, as well as and other coastal cities.

The latest Interior move may or may not help break a negotiation logjam that has nixed a water-sharing deal that must be signed by Tuesday. The Imperial Valley officials have steadfastly refused to sign a sharing contract they maintain will harm the region’s farmers.

In October, the state seemed to be on the cusp of a deal when the Valley district put on the table a 75-year proposition to pump up to 200,000 acre-feet of water each year to the San Diego region.

However, in early December the October offer was nixed, officials citing concerns that valley farmers might be left holding the liability bill the water transfer might cause to the environmentally sensitive Salton Sea, a lake that absorbs much of the runoff after agricultural use.

According to published reports, the valley farmers wanted a promise from the federal government that they would not have to foot the bill for any environmental cleanup. The government has refused such a guarantee.

Ironically, if Tuesday passes with the impasse still intact and Norton follows through on the shutoff promise, the beleaguered Metropolitan Water District, which serves 17 million people in Southern California, would lose water enough for more than 800,000 people next year – putting it in a potentially bigger fix than if the government had not interceded.

But officials with the Metropolitan district maintain they have sufficient reserves to avoid catastrophe for at least two years.

“It [the Norton plan] will increase pressure on the rest of the state,” said Barry Nelson, a water policy analyst with the National Resources Defense Council. “What some in the agricultural community will do is attempt to use this to increase the development of other sources, like building more dams.”

The Bush administration agrees. “This is a California choice,” said Assistant Interior Secretary Bennett Raley. “It’s time to deal with reality.”

And that reality is the water poised behind the federally run Hoover Dam, which is effectively the spigot that Norton controls. The Norton plan calls for a 13 percent reduction over the spillways next year – if a deal is not cut.

Historically, California has been enjoying the unfettered use of excess water from the Colorado for decades. Growth and drought have now signaled an end to the halcyon days. Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, Arizona and Nevada also draw water from the Colorado.

The Imperial Valley consumes about as much water each year as Nevada and Arizona combined.

Adding to the mix, the Valley district argues that the Interior Department cannot legally manage its intake from the Colorado River because agreements already on the books give it first rights to the water and furthermore requires that cities like San Diego are first in line when it comes to cutbacks.

“The secretary does not have the authority to do unilaterally what she is attempting to do,” John Carter, the district’s chief counsel, said in a statement. “Her action is in violation of our water rights and existing agreements.”

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