IID sets terms for participation in DCP

EL CENTRO — The Imperial Irrigation District board officially tied any efforts to deal with historic drought conditions on the Colorado River to Salton Sea restoration going forward.

The IID Board of Directors voted 4-1 on Monday to approve three so-called intra-California agreements to save the river and maintain elevation at Lake Mead contingent on, among other things, the state and federal governments fully funding Salton Sea restoration efforts.

During a meeting Monday where the directors were still being pressed to hold off any vote on the intra-California agreements by a vocal group from the local farm community, President James Hanks introduced a motion that sought to approve IID’s contribution to the drought contingency plan, while ensuring that no further harm come to the Salton Sea as a result of that plan.

Director Bruce Kuhn voted against the motion, voicing concern about language within the agreements that could potentially lead to litigation.

The motion called for an agreement between IID and Metropolitan Water District capping IID’s contribution of 250,000 acre-feet of water being sent to Lake Mead be approved, along with two ancillary amendments to that action, but all of that is contingent on IID basically being the last governing body to sign off on the DCP.

What’s more, it requires that the federal and state governments come up with the balance of funding to cover the costs of the 10-year first phase of the Salton Sea Management Program. That basically means the state and feds must come up with $200 million, which was about the amount lost (and the amount that would have completed the first phase) when the Proposition 3 water bond was defeated in November.

Hanks directed staff to push for funding for the Salton Sea in the as-yet unapproved federal farm bill.

Farmers who spoke after Hanks’ motion seemed receptive, although they continued to ask for more time to continue to review this new proposal.

At one point, some of the farmers questioned newly seated Director Alex Cardenas’ ability to vote on the issue. Cardenas said he appreciated being concerned about him getting up to speed, but cautioned, “Don’t use me as a crutch to push your agenda.”

MWD was expected to vote on the agreement with IID today. It wasn’t known how this conditional approval will affect that vote.

IID’s call for action comes just days before federal and basin states that depend on the river are to meet in Las Vegas for the Colorado River Water Users Association conference Thursday and Friday.

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, which is pushing for the DCP, was hoping to have agreements in place by that conference.

Meanwhile, Lake Mead is hovering at an elevation of just above 1,075 feet. Should it fall below that level, as is expected by 2020, the first water cuts could come to Arizona and Nevada. California would not be expected to face cuts until Lake Mead levels drop farther.

Local farmers have argued California shouldn’t face any reductions, claiming Arizona has failed to take steps to protect the river by wasting water on a groundwater replenishment program.