Reporting from Imperial, Calif.?
A 2003 water pact between the Imperial Valley and San Diego County was supposed to be good for both parties, and for California.But the agreement ? billed as the largest sale of water from farms to cities in the nation ? is snared in litigation and the outcome is uncertain. No sooner had the pact been signed than it came under attack by environmentalists, farmers and the Imperial County Board of Supervisors.
One major point of contention is that the Salton Sea could become saltier and shrink if farmers reduce agricultural runoff into the sea because water is being sold to San Diego County. If the sea recedes further and becomes more saline, it could lead to massive fish die-offs, endanger migratory fowl and result in toxic dust storms.
The state Legislature, to help finalize the water deal, had promised to help fund restoration of the sea, but budget constraints have made that impossible.
Unless the state follows through on that promise, officials in San Diego and the Imperial Valley worry that the water deal could be struck down by the courts. If that happens, Southern California may be forced to seek more water from Northern California ? the most incendiary issue in the state's historic water wars.
Last year a Sacramento judge ruled that it was unconstitutional for the state to sign an open-ended contract to save the Salton Sea, which could cost billions. An appeals court is set to hear arguments Nov. 21.
But even if the ruling is overturned, the water deal remains in jeopardy, officials said.
Some are concerned that another round of court action is likely to center on the state's refusal or inability to restore the Salton Sea, which would compound its environmental problems if water sales continue.
The deal "is in peril because the state failed to fulfill its obligation," said Maureen Stapleton, general manager of the San Diego County Water Authority.
The 75-year pact allows the water-rich Imperial Irrigation District to transfer some of its mammoth share of the Colorado River to the San Diego County Water Authority via the Colorado Aqueduct owned by the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California.
After the judge ruled against the water deal, a stay allowed water sales to continue until all legal issues are resolved. So San Diego County continues to get its water, and Imperial County continues to get its money.
A third of the Imperial Irrigation District's water operations budget, which pays for maintaining the All-American Canal and hundreds of miles of branch waterways and pumping stations, comes from water payments made by San Diego.
More than a third of the water that San Diego distributes to local agencies comes from the water transfer agreement and two related agreements. Those water sales are slated to increase over the years.
How San Diego would replace Imperial's water and how Imperial would replace San Diego's payments if the deal is struck down is unclear. Each has become dependent on the other.
In Imperial County, where agriculture is the dominant industry and the water pact has always been controversial, a major case of sellers' remorse has set in.
The Imperial Irrigation District governing board approved the deal on a 3-2 vote after years of arm-twisting by the federal government, including a threat by the Department of the Interior to take the water for free unless the district agreed to sell some of it to San Diego.
None of the three board members who voted in favor of the deal are still in office.
The board member who, after months of indecision, provided the swing vote was defeated for reelection by John Pierre Menvielle, a third-generation Imperial Valley farmer who ran on an anti-water-deal platform.
Menvielle has now quit active farming to concentrate on getting a better deal for the Imperial Valley and guarding against outside pressures that he fears could bankrupt local farmers. He still seethes over the way the federal government forced the district to let fields lie fallow so water could be shifted to San Diego.
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