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Chapter 9: Reliability Through Diversification
GROWING WATER TRANSFERS
Long-term water transfers were among the
first diversification options developed by the
Water Authority after the 1987-92 drought,
and today they form the cornerstone of the
region’s reliability strategy. The notion is si
m-
ple:
Move water from regions where it is abun-
dant – oftenti
mes far away from population
centers – to places
where users are willing
to pay for increased
supplies. In practice,
however, water trans-
fers are complicated by
decades of court
processes and legal
agreements that stipu-
late where water can
be used and who can
use it.
In 1995, the Water
Authority began negotiations with the I
mperial
Irrigation District for the transfer of up to
500,000 acre-feet of
water per year from the
fertile farming area in the southeastern corner
of
California. In 1998, the Water Authority and
IID signed an agreement that provided for the
transfer of between 130,000 and 300,000
acre-feet per year, depending on the exercise
of certain options. Despite legislation signed
in 1998 by then-Gov. Pete Wilson to encour-
age the transfer, its actual i
mplementation took
five more years to materialize.
Faced with the prospect of reduced sales to
its largest customer,
MWD responded to the
Water Authority-IID deal
with an all-out battle to
protect its monopoly. In late 2003, pressure
from the Legislature and the governor forced
MWD to back down. It
joined the Water
Authority, IID, the
Coachella Valley Water
District, the state of
California and the U.S.
Department of the
Interior in signing the
historic Colorado River
Quantification
Settlement Agreement.
The QSA created a plan
for li
miting the state's
use of
Colorado River water to its basic annual
apportionment of 4.4 million acre-feet, instead
of continuing to rely on surplus supplies that
belonged to other fast-growing states in the
Southwest.
The linchpin of the deal
was a long-term
schedule for transferring conserved water from
the I
mperial Valley to San Diego County. It
MILESTONES FOR CONSERVATION
& WATER TRANSFERS
The Quantification Settlement Agreement signing on
October 16, 2003
1986 Agricultural
water conservation undertaken,
reducing water consumption by 20 to 30%.
1987- 1992 Prolonged drought.
1995 Water Authority and Imperial Irrigation District
agree to explore potential for agriculture-to-
urban water transfer.
1996 Water Authority and Mexico agree to study a
binational pipeline from the All-American
Canal to San Diego to transfer water.
1998 Water Conservation and Transfer agree-
ment signed between Imperial Irrigation
District and Water Authority.
Water Authority and Metropolitan sign Water
Exchange Agreement to transport the IID
water to San Diego.
1999
Principles for California’s Colorado River
Water Use Plan finalized.
2003 Historic Quantification Settlement Agreement
approved by the U.S. Secretary of the Interior.
2006 Coachella Canal lining completed.
2010 All-American Canal lining completed.