1. Western Knight Center for Specialized Journalism Seminar:
Ensuring a Reliable Colorado River Water Supply: San Diego County Water Authority’s Transfer with the Imperial Irrigation District
Western Knight Center for Specialized Journalism Seminar:
Water and the New West
June 26, 2002

2. San Diego County Water Authority
Wholesale water supplier to San Diego County: provide 75-95% of county’s water
23 member agencies, 2.8 million people
Purchase water from MWD: 80% of Authority supply is from the Colorado River

3. Importance of River
Colorado River provides water to more than 30 million people, irrigates 2 million acres of farmland
River is “oversubscribed,” with existing water supply contracts greater than average supply.

4. Colorado River Entitlements (Million acre-feet)

6. Authority Transfer Perspective
Why does the Authority want a transfer?
Recent history of drought
Need to diversify water resources
Help resolve local water rights issue

7. Regional transfer perspective
Why do California, other states want the transfer?
California uses too much Colorado River water
Apportionment = 4.4 maf
Current use = 5.2 maf
Transfer is key component of California’s Colorado River Water Use Plan to reduce use
Current drought emphasizes need to reduce use of the river
MWD is vulnerable to Colorado River cutback

8. Priorities for California’s Colorado River Water Apportionment}
1. PVID
2. Yuma Project
3. IID and CVWD
4. MWD ,000 af
= 4.4 maf (California’s apportionment)
MWD currently uses 1.2 maf each year (capacity of Colorado River Aqueduct)
Extra water available from special, contingent surplus
3.85 maf

9. California’s Colorado River Water Use Plan (4.4 Plan)
Objectives:
Reduce California use to 4.4 maf, when necessary
Enable full MWD aqueduct, without harming agriculture or other states
Provide “soft landing,” as California reduces demand to 4.4 maf
Cooperative basin-wide approach to utilizing limited resources

10. Transfer, California Plan are linked
Complex agreements link the implementation of the IID/SDCWA water transfer with California Plan
Transfer cannot proceed without California Plan
California Plan cannot proceed without transfer

11. California Plan Key Elements: SDCWA/IID Transfer; 200,000 af/yr
MWD/IID Transfer; 110,000 af/yr
CVWD/IID Transfer; 100,000 af/yr
Canal seepage conservation programs (All American, Coachella canals); 94,000 af/yr
Storage and conjunctive use programs

12. California Plan Implementation
Quantification Settlement Agreement
Interim Surplus Guidelines

13. Quantification Settlement Agreement
Settlement among California agencies limiting agricultural water use
Establishes agency water budgets
Forms baseline for water conservation
Includes water conservation and transfer program water acquisition agreements

14. Interim Surplus Guidelines
Additional surplus water through 2016, while California develops conservation and transfer programs
Kept MWD aqueduct full this year; also needed next year.
Suspended if Quantification Settlement Agreement is not executed by 12/31/02
Raley’s fed reg notice

15. IID/SDCWA Water Transfer
Agreement completed in 1998
Largest agriculture-to-urban water transfer ever in U.S.
Authority pays IID farmers to conserve water, which becomes available for urban use
Under current agreement, agricultural land fallowing not permitted
Transfer begins in 2003 at 20,000 af/yr; increases by 20,000 af/yr until program reaches maximum yield of 200,000 af/yr

16. IID/SDCWA Water Transfer
Conveyed through Colorado River Aqueduct
SDCWA/MWD exchange agreement
Price is indexed to cost of MWD supplies; includes farmer incentives
Begin deliveries in 2003; term is for 45 years, with 30-year renewal option
Contingent upon QSA execution, environmental approvals

17. Environmental compliance issues
In the river
Change in point of diversion
In the Imperial, Coachella valleys
On-farm
Canals and drains
Project Specific
All American, Coachella canal lining
Conjunctive use programs
San Diego County Area of Use
Growth inducement issue
Salton Sea
IID scheduled to certify EIR by end of month

18. Salton Sea Created in 1905 through irrigation canal failure
Landlocked repository for agricultural drainage
Heavily used by migratory waterfowl, including endangered species
Salinity increasing every year
Is now 30% saltier than ocean water
Large-scale fish and bird die-offs in recent years
Without human intervention, sea will eventually become “hypersaline,” unable to support fish, waterfowl

19. Relationship of transfer to Salton Sea
Water conservation reduces flows to Sea, causes temporal salinity rate increase:
Without transfers, Sea will turn hypersaline in 7 to 22 years
With transfers, Sea will turn hypersaline 1 to 9 years earlier
Salton Sea will continue to deteriorate with or without any water transfers
Species at the Salton Sea are and will remain in jeopardy without human intervention

20. 1998 Salton Sea Reclamation Act
Develops reclamation plan and funds studies
Objective to reduce/stabilize salinity of Sea
Assumes reduced inflows from transfers
Inflows could reduced by up to 500,000 af/yr
Precludes using Colorado River diversions to reduce salinity
January 2000 feasibility study alternatives were found not viable.
Revised feasibility study due in 2002

21. Option for environmental compliance:
Fallowing suggested as means of conservation to avoid environmental impacts
would allow continued flow to the Sea
Causes “3rd-party” economic impacts
Economic impacts vs environmental impacts
Potential temporary “bridge” program until long-term Salton Sea restoration implemented

22. State legislative assistance:
SB 482 (Kuehl)
Bill addresses:
Fully Protected Species statutes
California Endangered Species Act
fallowing as conservation measure
Assurances for IID

23. Federal legislative assistance:
HR 2764 (Hunter)
Provides funds for first phase of long-term Salton Sea restoration
Salton Sea habitat enhancement after 2007 (if long-term restoration is not under way)
Assurances for IID

24. Resolution is Needed This Year
Deadline to execute Quantification Settlement Agreement is December 31, 2002
Interim Surplus Guidelines suspended if QSA is not executed by deadline
MWD at risk of losing 700,000 af, or 35% of imported water used by 17 million people
increase competition for remaining supplies