While lawyers for Arizona and Nevada square off against the federal government in a Las Vegas federal courtroom, Imperial Valley farmers are already calculating how much less water the All-American Canal will deliver to their fields. … For Imperial County, California’s 440,000-acre-foot annual reduction is not an abstract number. The Imperial Irrigation District holds the single largest entitlement on the river, roughly 3.1 million acre-feet, much of it under senior Present Perfected Rights dating to the early 20th century. Nearly all of that water irrigates the half-million acres of farmland that make the Valley one of the nation’s most productive agricultural regions. Winter vegetable crops, alfalfa, and other commodities depend entirely on Colorado River diversions; there is no meaningful groundwater alternative.

Other Colorado River management news:

• Arizona Capitol Times (Phoenix): Dunn wants to create commission to bolster Colorado River negotiations
• KJZZ (Phoenix): Phoenix water bills are some of the lowest in the U.S. Here’s what makes that possible
• Summit Daily (Colo.): Can a new technology help a Northwest Colorado river basin ‘fuel’ clouds to increase snow, rainfall?
• Arizona Farm Bureau: Blog: Did Arizona escalate a water war? Time will tell
• Wall Street Journal: Opinion: California in the water wars