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".'r" "" ..w,....../I.:, .-', II......... l';'. U_.....l r...v,,, I 1l)--';)L......KLII Illtp:J:.....m:.ap.org:APnc......s. c.;ntcr 'S fOR YOI0=2U--Ic.] 21 b2&FRONTID=SEAI{ ,. 12/12/199705:33 EST Details of Water Pact Released AP WIRE (online) By PAULA STORY Associated Press Writer SAN DIEGO (AP) -- A multibillion-dollar deal to ship Colorado River water through the Imperial Valley could quench San Diego County's thirst for generations and become the model for future Western conservation efforts, Two years in the making, the proposed 75-year contract would allow San Diego to buy water from the Imperial Irrigation District, which takes water free from the Colorado River and sells it to farmers in the fertile Imperial Valley. Under the tentative deal reached Thursday, San Diego initially would pay about $250 per acre-foot, compared to the more than $400 it now pays the Metropolitan Water District. An acre-foot is 326,000 gallons -- enough water for two average Southern California households each year, The agreement, which could have water flowing to San Diego County as early as 1999, offers the county a declining discount that would start at 25 percent and end at 5 percent in the 17th year. California currently takes around 5.3 million acre feet of water each year, although it is only allotted 4.4 million acre feet. Proponents laud the pact as a historic model for a law requiring the state to reduce the amount it can take from the river, The federal government, neighboring Arizona and other states along the Colorado say the Golden State is sucking down more than its share and must find alternatives, "We've always gone to some other part of California -- or some other area -- for our water," state Republican Sen. David Kelley of Idyllwild said Thursday, "There's no place else to go," The pact will have a public review before both board consider final approval in February. The plan hinges on the giant M~tropolitan Water District's rates for sending the water through its aqueduct and pipeline facility, The San Diego wat~r authority has been negotiating the cost with the district since January 1996, but the two have been at an impasse, ~\,'O ): Home I US News I World News I Business I SDorts I Index I Weather I HelD Ap Copyright 1997 Associated Press. AU rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcasl, rewrinen or redistributed. Send comments and questions about The WIRE 10 feedhad;,.ii:Jn or!!.. 1 of 1 12112197 I Ln)