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<br />Ml00f. <br /> <br />PART TIIREE: IRRIGATION DlSTRlcrs AND WAlER QUALITY <br /> <br />The role of irrigation districts in implementing agriculturaJ:related water quality programs <br /> <br />bas not yet been well defined, While Congress bas taken a bands off approach to tbe <br /> <br />regulation of agricultural practices under tbe Clean Water Act, today's irrigation districts may <br /> <br />not have the expertise, the power or the incentive to address water quality concerns, And it <br /> <br />may be tbat they are not appropriate vehicles for band ling water quality clean up and control. <br /> <br />The following discussion coll.liders whether or not irrigation districts should be respoll.lible for <br /> <br />meeting water quality objectives, and if so, wbat steps sbould be taken to ensure that the <br /> <br />districts have the ability and the incentive to do so, <br /> <br />Irrigation District Responsibility for Agricultural Pollution Control <br /> <br />Historically, irrigation districts have stayed away from the regulation of irrigation <br /> <br />practices, Instead, they have relied on tbe federal government to step in when irrigation- <br /> <br />induced pollution reached a level that required clean up. There are several reasons, however, <br /> <br />for making these institutioll.l respoll.lible for water quality: (1) they control a major portion of <br /> <br />water that is used in agricultural practices that collectively are a principal source of water <br /> <br />pollution; (2) they are organized locally and along lines of natural watersheds; (3) they bring <br /> <br />year> of experience with water management on district lands; (4) they can bring "economies of <br /> <br />scale to pollution control; (5) tbey could develop sYstem-wide plall.l as tbey have done with <br /> <br />water distnbution systems;, (6) the costs of cleanup can be distributed equitably among users <br /> <br />within the district; and (7) districts can qualify for grants and other types of governmental aid to <br /> <br />assist them in canying Olit their pollution control programs, <br />. ' " <br /> <br />28 <br />