STORIES FROM THE PAST
50 years ago
Claiming recommendations by a government agency for maximum water temperature in the New and Alamo rivers is “idiotic and unreasonable,” the Imperial Irrigation District yesterday got ready for the Ides of March.
The local division of the Colorado River Basin Regional Water Quality Control Board met Thursday morning at IID headquarters in El Centro.
Among items discussed was water quality policies for California’s interstate waters. Amendments proposed include those for temperature, bacteriology and radioactivity.
Each regional board submits to the state board its recommendations based on studies and hearings in its area. On Thursday the regional board, IID and the Department of Fish and Game clashed.
The DFG suggestion was for an amendment to require no interstate water (New and Alamo rivers) to have a temperature in excess of 80 degrees. Recorded temperatures here so far have been as high as 92.
The DFG report also noted that Arizona has proposed to allow heat that could raise temperatures of the Colorado River (the third interstate waterway discussed at the meeting) to 93 degrees.
40 years ago
Blinn Tenney was named principal of Central Union High School by the CUHS board Thursday night.
He had been acting principal since Jan. 22, the same day that former principal Eugene Tubach returned to teaching.
The decision was made by the board in executive session. The announcement was applauded by several high school students and teachers who attended the meeting.
30 years ago
Stockton and Los Angeles have both passed ordinances banning the sale and possession of semi-automatic weapons, but city officials across the Valley disagree on whether such a ban should be imposed here.
The bans have come in the wake of the Jan. 17 massacre of schoolchildren in Stockton by a man armed with an AK-47 assault rifle.
County Administrative Officer Rich Inman said he met with Sheriff Oren Fox on Wednesday to discuss the semi-automatic weapons issue. Inman said the county Board of Supervisors’ Public Protection Committee may meet later this month to discuss whether a ban against semi-automatic weapons is needed.
But Inman said the county does not have the authority to impose restrictions on weapons permitting, and any such action would have to originate with the individual city councils in the Valley.
20 years ago
LOS ANGELES — In a second day of appearances before the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, members of the Imperial Irrigation District Board of Directors again emphasized the importance of starting a dialogue to discuss issues of mutual concern.
Division 3 Director Lloyd Allen told the full Met board that past and recent actions have angered people of the Imperial Valley.
“The hostile act that you guys did on the Alamo River made my constituents madder than hell,” Allen said. “Then you talk about reallocation of the ag entitlement.”
Metropolitan filed a petition with the State Water Resources Control Board on Sept. 8, 1997, for appropriative water rights to the Alamo River “and ag drains in the vicinity of the Alamo River.” It also filed for similar rights to the Whitewater River in Riverside County.
On the issue of reallocation, MWD has asked Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt to decrease IID’s entitlement to the Colorado River and give that water to Met. Metropolitan directors say they are not interested in reallocation.
A Jan. 18 letter from Met to Babbitt states otherwise.
“The Met agencies cannot accept the proposition that the supply of water to be made available to urban users from allocations within your control should be decided by the agricultural users rather than by you and your successors,” the letter reads.