A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
October 6, 2008
3. Watersheds –
Anatomy of a sea
By Megan Bakker, staff writer
Whether or not the Imperial Irrigation District decides to renew a group of leases around the
“The IID cannot be put in a position where we’re going to be liable for more flooding,” said IID board President John Pierre Menvielle.
In the 1970s and 1980s, the sea level rose dramatically and several IID-leased properties flooded. Residents sued the IID and the board passed a resolution to no longer lease properties below a certain elevation, 220 feet below sea level, where a study showed the sea was unlikely to rise above.
The IID was held responsible partially because of the unique nature of the
In 1905 the Colorado River breached a dike of an
1905 wasn’t the first time the basin where the sea sits now had flooded — the Salton Sea Authority site said the basin flooded nine times before. But the 1905 flood was the one that stuck.
Since then, the sea has been fed by tailwater from farm land, John Penn Carter, a former IID attorney, said.
In the ’70s, though, things started to get out of control.
Carter, who worked for the IID when the lawsuits occurred, said at the time water was cheap, and farmers were buying more than they strictly needed. The excess water would drain to the bottom of their farmland, where it collected into IID’s drains. The drains ran to the sea, feeding and filling it.
Human behavior met with Mother Nature, as the 1970s also brought on some unusually wet weather, Menvielle said. He said there was a pair of “100-year storms” back-to-back that raised the water in the sea.
As the sea level rose, the predictable happened, and properties that were close to the water line were flooded. The residents, who had leases with the IID sued.
“Ultimately it was determined by the courts that the IID and the farmers were not using the water as reasonably as they should,” Carter said.
Menvielle said part of the reason the IID started water transfers was to slow the flooding.
In 2003, a major water transfer agreement was signed known as the Quantification Settlement Agreement, which not only limits the amount of water the IID is allowed to take from the Colorado River, it also mandates a certain amount of water be transferred to the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. All this means less run-off water to fill the sea.
Residents say that now the sea is unlikely to ever reach its former levels.
Dennis Reiger, a developer and Realtor around the
“All the land around the
Skeeter Malcolm, the manager and maintenance worker for the Vista Del Mar clubhouse, one of the properties on IID land, gave a more dire figure. Malcolm said that in the year since he’s worked there, he’s seen the sea go down at least five to six feet.
“It’s gonna go down to nothing if they don’t do something with it,” said Malcolm.#
http://www.ivpressonline.com/articles/2008/10/05/local_news/news03.txt
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