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~e $an Diego ltnion.~ribune. FRIDAY. DECDIBER 12, 199i 8-12 Sew up the deal JIWD must agree to Teali.stic water Tates 1515 The landmark deal for Imperial Valley to sell San Diego Coun- ty 200.000 acre-feet of water a year changes the future wa- ter supply for the region. It provides San Diego County with an independent, reliable supply of new wa- ter for 75 years in the future from water conserved by Imperial Valley farmers. And it eventually could help bring more water to all of Southern California. But that's only if the Metropolitan '~Va[er District. the county's Los An- geles-based water '.'v'holesaler. wil1 agree to sensible rates for piping our new water through the ;\1WO's Colora- do River Aqueduct. If the MWD keeps trying to thwart the Imperial Valley deal by proposing ridiculously high Bruce Babbitt rates for using its aqueduct, it will thwart water progress for all of Southern California. Here's wh>': All the states that use :olorado River water, and the federal ~ovemment, are demanding that Cali- ~.ornia live within its 4.4 million acre. :eet annual allotment. For years, the 3tate has been taking as much as 5.2 milJion-acre feet. the extra coming from unused allotments of other states. All ..he extra is taken by the MWD. The San Diego County.lmperial Val- lev deal v..;ll be a giant step toward :,~ducmg Southern California's intake of '':olorado River water. aut if the ~1\VD won't pla:- ball, other 3tates and t~e federal government will believe, and rightly so, that the MWD isn't serious about living within its Colo. rado River allotment. And, if that hap- pens, the other Colorado River states and Northern California will probably oppose plans to fIx the Bay-Delta, a crucial project for Southern California's water supply. U Southern California is e\'er to re- ceive more water from Northern Cali- fornia, the water flow through the Sac. ramento-San Joaquin River Delta and San Francisco Bay must be flXed. Cur- rent pumping operations are slowly kill- ing the Bay.Delta. A major state-federal project to fix the Bay- Delta is under way, but it must receive fWIding from Congress. U elected officials from Northern Cal- ifornia and other Colorado River states think Southern California isn't serious about reducing its Colorado River in. take, the>"ll oppose the Bay-Delta plan. That would be very bad for the future of our reglOn. Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt must step in immediately and encour. age the ~lWD to go along v.;th the San Diego County.lmperial Valley deal. Po- litical pressure from the governor and the Legislature also must be brought to bear. This new water deal v..il1 be the model for future transfers from agriculture to cities in California. And it will benefit all of Southern California by sho....-ing ev- eryone else that we can live within our water allotment. But that can happen onJy if the MWD realizes its responsibility to Southern California water reliability and agrees to realistic rates for using its aqueduct. Federal and state officials need to r:1.ake sure it does.