Imperial Valley water wars heat up again

Sammy Roth

The people of California’s Imperial Valley can be as unforgiving as the region’s harsh desert climate. It’s been 16 years since Bruce Kuhn cast the fateful vote to transfer tens of billions of gallons of Colorado River water from the valley’s sprawling farms to thirsty coastal cities, reshaping water politics in California and across the West. But for many locals, it might as well have been yesterday. Voters sent Kuhn packing from the Imperial Irrigation District’s board of directors last month after a primary campaign in which his leading opponent, J.B. Hamby, hammered him over the consequences of the water transfer — including the accelerated demise of the Salton Sea, a giant lake that is spewing lung-damaging dust into the air as it shrinks. “We cannot afford another four years that look just the same as the last 16,” Hamby said at a January debate. Kuhn finished third in the primary, missing the November runoff by 44 votes — a razor-thin margin even in an election that saw just 5,000 people cast ballots. Hamby was the top vote-getter and will square off against attorney Ryan Childers. The results could echo far beyond Imperial County. Tucked away in California’s southeastern corner, Imperial holds a century-old right to one-fifth of all the water allocated along the Colorado River. The water fuels a $2-billion agriculture industry that produces much of America’s winter vegetables. Forty million people from Los Angeles to Wyoming depend on the Colorado for drinking water, making the five members of the Imperial Irrigation District board some of the region’s most powerful — if little-known — elected officials. State and federal agencies are gearing up for crucial negotiations over which cities and farming districts will receive less water — and how much less — during future shortages. And shortages are likely. There’s already more Colorado River water allocated across seven states than has historically flowed through the river, and climate change is putting additional strain on its flows. Solving the Colorado River basin’s long-term problems won’t be possible without the Imperial Valley, said John Fleck, director of the University of New Mexico’s water resources program. Cities and farming districts will need to band together to limit consumption — and that includes the Colorado’s biggest water user, the Imperial Irrigation District. Even after the water transfer, the Imperial Valley accounts for more than half of California’s overall draw from the Colorado River. In 2018, the valley consumed about as much water from the river as the state of Arizona, and more than any other state...MORE