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<br />SignOnSanDiego.com> News> Special Reports -- Imperial's decision <br /> <br />PagcJ 0 r7 <br /> <br />gas bag" when she intervened. Others in positions of influence bave <br />branded the deal a "shotgun wedding" and "great water rape." <br /> <br />No clear majority among the five district directors has emerged as they <br />head toward a vote, possibly as soon as tomorrow. <br /> <br />"Everybody gets a piece of <br />the meat and there's lots <br />of blood 011 the l1oor," <br />director Lloyd Allen said <br />in a forecast of the <br />meeting. <br /> <br />. <br />,~.. <br /> <br />&:onddo <br />> <br /> <br />ARll. <br /> <br />Suspicion runs deep, <br />planted years ago by <br />questionable dealings - <br />sccretive talks to sell <br />w;;lter out of the Imperial <br />Valley to San Diego, and <br />Los Angeles' draining of <br />Owens Lake. <br /> <br />.__.~'1fiit. <br />- <br />IUUlU <br /> <br />f1Ctftl~ NM"..,....." <br />. '-' <br />I . <br />~"L~ _ ....- - / Y~lIIa <br />~l '''''Ha~ , <br />- <br /> <br />S:nDitt. <br />. <br /> <br />~ <br /> <br />trw;:uad~ <br /> <br />~ <br />...........-f""............. <br /> <br />The San Diego County Water Authority itself has stoked discontent. <br />Separate meetings with farmers and a secret poll arc cited here as <br />e\idence of a divide-and-conquer strategy. <br /> <br />The inflamed passions have yet to be calmed, even though the proposal <br />has been significantly tempered. <br /> <br />ECOl1nmil" fcars <br /> <br />Under the latest plan, farmers would leave fewer acres unplanted to <br />appease critics who say that fallO\\ing to save water ....il1 curtail <br />spending in the community and cost jobs. <br /> <br />"There's a lot of fear of the unknO\\11," said Cu.th\' Kennerson of the El <br />Centro Chamher of Commerce. "We're not agai~st a transfer. We just <br />want to make sure the business community remains whole." <br /> <br />Ewr)" job counts in Imperial County. <br /> <br />About one in five people in the county is unemployed, depend inK on <br />the time of year . Those numbers, however, reflect a marked <br />improvement over prcvious years when at times one in cvery thrl'c did <br />not have a job. <br /> <br />The county historically has had the highest unemployment rate in the <br />state. <br /> <br />At its pcak in nbout 15 years, Ihe proposal would deliver 200,000 acre. <br />feet, or enough for 400,000 homes annually, 10 the San Diego region. <br />That amounts to 6.5 percent of the Imperial Valley's 3.J million acre- <br />foot allotment from the river. <br /> <br />In contrast, the 200,000 acre-feet is about one. third of San Diego's <br />annual need. Additionally, the program is expected to cap idling of <br />farmland at 27,000 of the irrigation district's 460,000 acres. <br /> <br />http://www.sigllonsalldiego.com/news/rcponslwaterI20021208.9999-watcr.html <br /> <br />12/10/02 <br />