A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
August 20, 2008
2. Supply –
IID declares water shortage
It’s a harsh reality being faced by farmers across the state as some are forced to abandon their crops due to the water shortage plaguing
The Imperial Irrigation District is not immune to the effects of living within the restrictions of water transfers and the local enormous agricultural water demand.
There will not be enough water in 2009, district officials said.
A shortage was declared by the board unanimously Tuesday, serving as a warning to those most affected by the supply-demand imbalance that change is on the horizon.
“We have to recognize we can’t continue on this way,” said IID Director Mike Abatti. “It’s not healthy.”
The district is already on track to exceed its water allotment by 105,000 acre-feet this year as thirsty lucrative crop prices have soared, stretching the water budget past the limit.
“That’s not good news for the district,” said Carlos Villalon, IID assistant Water Department manager.
IID is living in a new era, said IID board President John Pierre Menvielle, as it tries to manage the water transfer requirements and fuel the billion-dollar agriculture industry. Agriculture accounts for 97 percent of IID’s district-wide water usage.
This is not the first time IID has declared an SDI.
In June 2007, the board declared a water shortage when projections put the district 75,000 acre-feet over its entitlement of water. That number continued to shrink and ultimately an influx of rainfall decreased the overrun to less than 10,000 acre-feet of water last year. The supply-demand imbalance was rescinded in December.
The rationing program was reduced to a pilot program as a result but only garnered two dozen voluntary participants, rendering the project useless without a trial-run on a larger scale.
Brawley farmer Larry Cox said getting the farm community actively involved in the decision-making process now can ensure a smoother transition to a rationing program. Cox said he was part of a 15-member advisory committee last year whose comments are largely ignored by staff.
“The ones who are going to have to live with this (are the farmers),” Cox told the board. “We’re the ones that pay for the water.”
Farmers are well aware that market conditions and the restrictions of the 2003 Quantification Settlement Agreement that transfers water to the coast require action to be taken, Nicole Rothfleisch said.
Rothfleisch, executive director of the Imperial County Farm Bureau, added IID has relied on consultants in the past to develop the equitable distribution program without real-life applications and dismissing plans created by the ICFB, Imperial Valley Vegetable Growers Association and Ag United.
“We certainly hope that as the IID plans to completely change the method of distributing irrigation water that they will heed the advice of farmer groups and the Water Conservation Advisory Board,” Rothfleisch said. “They are the experts and that’s what they’re there for.”
IID General Manager Brian Brady said by declaring a shortage now instead of waiting until the October deadline, public workshops can lay out the proposed specific implementation guidelines like the method of deciding how much water farmers get for their fields.
“We want to make sure the public has input into that,” Brady said. “It’s a process and the board will ultimately have the final say.”
Director James Hanks said there are larger implications if the district is unable to stay within its limits including the need to increase fallowing to meet the water transfer requirements.
Not much has changed since the last time the board declared an SDI, Hanks said.
“We haven’t made any more progress since December of last year,” Hanks said. “I believe we can do a better job in water management.”
Though the days of water rationing in
“We’re fortunate from the point-of-view that we do have this large allocation and that we are able to work within the SDI parameters. Hopefully we’ll be providing our farmers the best solution in this drought related condition we’re in,” Brady said.
Hanks said an SDI is a wake-up call.
“Under these conditions every drop is looked at and accounted for,” Hanks said.
Local farmers, Menvielle said, will bear the brunt of learning how to make due with less.
“IID is living with a limited amount of water. Farmers will have to control their water. It’s been a monkey on our back. This puts it on the farmers. They have to figure out how to deal with it,” Menvielle said.#
http://www.ivpressonline.com/articles/2008/08/20/local_news/news03.txt
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