“The Bureau of
Reclamation is alerting residents and visitors along the lower
Colorado River to higher-than-usual water flows over the next
10 days. …
“While it isn’t unusual for releases from Parker Dam to reach
20,000 cubic feet per second at this time of year, the duration
is expected to last longer.
“While other areas — including the farm belt of the Central
Valley — face immediate supply cutbacks, the Imperial Valley
continues to have all the water it can use.
“The Salton Sea Authority approved a resolution of support for
the Salton Sea Restoration and Renewable Energy Initiative on
Thursday. …
“The Salton Sea Restoration and Renewable Energy Initiative
would use revenue generated by new renewable energy projects to
fund environmental mitigation and restoration efforts at the
Salton Sea.
“A quick glance at Imperial County’s latest agricultural crop
and livestock report should remove any doubt about the scale of
the area’s agriculture. …
“Yet, increased expenses took a huge bite out of the business.
“The memorandum of understanding signed Thursday among the
Imperial Irrigation District, Imperial County and its air
pollution control district is momentous in many respects. First
of all, it helps mend about 10 years of contentious debate over
the validity of the Quantification Settlement Agreement and the
conditions put in place.
“An updated design plan and cost estimation for upgrades to
Holtville’s wastewater treatment plant was presented to
Holtville City Council on Monday evening.
“Upgrades are required for the wastewater treatment plant
because it is not up to state standards due to the high levels
of ammonia in the wastewater.
From The Sacramento Bee, in a column by Dan Walters:
“Brown is now back in the governorship and trying to implement
a revised version of his plan to bypass the Sacramento-San
Joaquin Delta in transhipment of Northern California water
southward, this time with twin tunnels.
“However, the outcome is very uncertain, as is the fate of a
multibillion-dollar water bond that those in the Capitol are
now trying to write.
“While those wrangles remain unsettled, however, another water
issue in Southern California, which also simmered for decades,
may finally be resolved.”
“The Imperial Irrigation District hosted a public workshop
Wednesday to discuss the preservation of the IID’s water rights
and the challenges posed by the massive water transfer at the
heart of the Quantification Settlement Agreement.
“Yet, more than a year after the IID adopted an alternative
approach to the QSA and less than two months after the validity
of the transfer was upheld in court, the message from the
district’s attorneys is essentially the same: The IID and the
farm community must make a reasonable effort to conserve
Colorado River w
“Imperial Irrigation District officials fired back at two water
agencies challenging how IID uses its entitlement of Colorado
River water, characterizing their statements as ‘political
rhetoric’ and threats on the district’s right to use water within
its territory.”
“The sparsely populated Owens Valley is the site of some of the
highest levels of particulate matter air pollution ever
recorded in the United States, with most of it originating from
the dried Owens Lake bed.
“And while Imperial County’s Salton Sea still contains water,
it will likely be worse than Owens Lake if the sea is allowed
to dry up, said Ted Schade, air pollution control officer with
Great Basin Air Pollution Control District.”
“There is no shortage of Imperial Valley farmers who oppose the
Quantification Settlement Agreement, the nation’s largest
agriculture to urban-area water transfer.
“Many have challenged its validity in court over the last 10
years.
“A Republican congressman who represents the northern Mojave
Desert has asked the federal government to launch a
full-fledged environmental review of Cadiz Inc.’s proposed
groundwater pumping project.
“The request by U.S. Rep. Paul Cook (R-Yucca Valley) joins a
similar one made last year by Sen.
“A judge in the coordinated Quantification Settlement Agreement
lawsuits denied a request for another 90-day stay of his final
decision of the decade-long lawsuits, setting back the Imperial
Irrigation District’s attempt to settle the cases with all
parties involved.”
“While water scarcity affects one in three people in the world,
Imperial County is a desert with a reliable water
source. But that reliability, which comes from the Colorado
River, the lifeblood for some 40 million people across seven
states, could be compromised in coming decades, according to a
recent study by U.S.
