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<br />SignOnS.anDiego.com > News> Metro -- Imperial spurns water transfer deal <br /> <br />Page 3 of 4 <br /> <br />Imperial directors Bruce Kuhn and Andy Horne opposed the water <br />transfer; they both backed the counteroffer. That offer would <br />immediately send 100,000 acre-feet of water to San Diego. <br /> <br />"We are going to have to transfer some water. We can't avoid that. But <br />it has to be on our terms," said director Stella Mendoza. " . . . If you <br />push me around, I'll push back." <br /> <br />The counter plan calls for leaving thousands of acres ofland unplanted; <br />similar fallowing of land under the original plan was vehemently <br />opposed by many people throughout the region. <br /> <br />Kuhn acknowledged the contradiction, but said that limiting the deal to <br />five years would give officials a chance to gauge the impact of fallowing <br />farmland. <br /> <br />"The agricultural land that is fallowed as a result of the water transfer <br />will result in a direct loss of farm-worker and other agricultural-related <br />jobs," said Gustavo Aguirre of the United Farm Workers of America, as <br />the board contemplated the more sweeping plan. <br /> <br />Nearly 200 <br /> <br />Last night's meeting drew a standing-room-only crowd of nearly 200 <br />people, most of whom opposed the water sale. They asked the board to <br />hold out for a shorter agreement, more money, and guarantees that <br />urban California won't demand more in the future. <br /> <br />Ray Saucedo of Imperial said the region would be getting "pennies" for <br />the water. "Some of us here are money-hungry, and water is money. <br />Let's get some real money, folks," he said. <br /> <br />Imperial's counteroffer is vague about how it would affect the Salton <br />Sea. <br /> <br />The sea, dubbed "California's Everglades," is a wildlife haven, an <br />important resting stop for some 400 types of birds. But it's becoming <br />too salty to sustain fish, leading some experts to conclude that it could <br />be unusable in 15 years or so. <br /> <br />Landlocked, the Salton Sea is replenished by farm runoff, which helps <br />dilute salinity. If farmers fallow too much land, the nourishing runoff <br />also will be squeezed. <br /> <br />An earlier water transfer proposal was scrapped because government <br />regulators said it did not do enough to protect the inland sea. <br /> <br />Colorado River water has turned the Imperial Valley from a desert into <br />vibrant farmland that produces $1 billion worth of food each year. The <br />water has been considered a birthright for generations of Imperial <br />farmers. <br /> <br />But Gov. Gray Davis urged Imperial farmers and directors to consider <br />giving some of that water up. He sent them a letter yesterday asking the <br />board to carefully consider its decision. Some directors took the letter <br />as a last-shot warning to toe the line. <br /> <br />http://www.signonsandiego.comlnews/metro/2002121 0-9999 _ 8n 1 Owater.html <br /> <br />12/10/02 <br />