The San Diego County Water Authority and Metropolitan Water District are set to announce a historic settlement of decades of legal disputes following the 2003 deal to purchase water from Imperial Valley farmers. The disputes are insanely complex and they have cost San Diego ratepayers an estimated $20 million in legal fees. … The Water Authority agreed to purchase water for several decades from IID. It also invested heavily in lining the canals that bring water from the Colorado River, saving significant amounts of water that had been lost to seepage. … The settlement will set a framework for the Water Authority to sell water to other Southern California water agencies or to Metropolitan itself. And Metropolitan has agreed to even allow the Water Authority to sell water out of state, if it’s not needed here.