WSP12980

• File Number: 8210.140.20.C
• Description: Imperial Irrigation District ‎(IID)‎
• State: CA
• Basin: Colorado Mainstem
• Date: 1/9/1996
• Author: Imperial Irrigation District
• Title: Water Requirements and Availability Sutdy ‎(draft)‎
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: Publication

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Agreement between lID and the Coachella Valley Water District (CVWD) cleared the way for
CVWD to make its own contract with the Secretary. According to this Compromise Agreement
though, for years in which there is a shortage of Colorado River water, the District's third
priority apportionment takes precedence over CVWD's.

Both the Colorado River Compact and the Boulder Canyon Project Act contained provisions that
required satisfaction of "present perfected rights", or appropriative rights acquired pursuant to
state law that were in existence prior to the enaction of these legislations. lID's water rights can
be classified as two types, "present perfected" and/or "contract". The 1964 Supreme Court
decree (Arizona vs. California, 373 u.s. 546), in conjunction with a supplemental 1979 decree
(Arizona vs. California, 439 u.s. 419, 429), awarded the lID a "present perfected right" to 2.6
million acre-feet of Colorado River Water annually. This legal decision reinforced the rights to
this water that the District had previously established through appropriations based on historical
usage. These present perfected rights are essential to the District as they guarantee priority
access to Colorado River water before those without these rights (after Mexico's allotment has
been satisfied). Of the Seven-Party Agreement entities, only Palo Verde Irrigation District
(PVID), lID, and the Yuma Project (non-Indian portions) have present perfected rights. lID's
remaining water allocations are based on "contract rights" from the December 1932 contract with
the Secretary of the Interior (as modified by the 1934 Compromise Agreement with CVWD).
Contract rights for all California entities are described in Article 17 of the 1932 Contract and in
their individual contracts with the Secretary. While signatories to the 1931 Seven Party
Agreement, Los Angeles, San Diego, and the County of San Diego have since merged their
rights with those of the Metropolitan Water District, who originally was granted a fourth priority
550,000 acre-feet allotment of California's 4.4 million acre-feet apportionment. California's
Colorado River water right priorities are summarized below in Table II.D-l.

Draft: Subject To Revision 12/21/95

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