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<br />W\C jan lJitgo
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<br />- 12/12/97 - A/l
<br />
<br />Pact provides
<br />county a new
<br />water source
<br />
<br />By Steve La Rue, SHFfWRITER
<br />"n agreement to insulate San Diego County's
<br />5S'0 billion-plus annual economy from disastrous
<br />droughts was unveiled yesterday by CIty and agn-
<br />cultural leaders who called it hlstonc, .
<br />Imgation water now used in Impenal. Valley
<br />.. Id- . Id be conserved and begm to flow mto San
<br />He ;:, ,"ou . h 7"
<br />Diego Countv in 1999, accordmg to t e ~-year
<br />pact. The agreement would expand San Dleg~
<br />Countl"S water imports by at least 29 percent ana
<br />as much as 66 percent. .. d .
<br />Backers say the agreement, If fmally approv~ .'~
<br />February, will lead the way toward future farm cltl
<br />Wa[er transfers in the West.
<br />'This would be far and away the largest such
<br />water transfer in Californl~: and probably the ]~rg-
<br />t. the \Vestern states said Christine Fra m.
<br />es m ' . C ' W te
<br />board chairwoman of the San Diego ountl a r
<br />,"uthontl'. . II .
<br />Direct.ors of the authority and the lmpena_ mga-
<br />tion District voted yesterday to send the 10-page
<br />
<br />See WATER "" Page A-26
<br />
<br />Water
<br />
<br />Public comment sought
<br />on 70-page agreement
<br />
<br />1'.)30
<br />
<br />Continued from A-l
<br />
<br />draft agreement, which took more
<br />than two years to negotiate, to the
<br />public for comment and reVIew,
<br />The water transfer cannot pro-
<br />ceed, however, without an agree-
<br />ment between the water authonty
<br />and the Metropolitan Water Dis-
<br />trict, the regional supplier that op-
<br />erates the Colorado River Aque-
<br />duct. The San Diego agency and the
<br />
<br />Los Angeles-based MWD must
<br />agree on how much the MWD can
<br />charge to transport the Imperial
<br />Valley water. Negotiations have
<br />continued for months,
<br />One major impetus for the water-
<br />transfer. agreement occurred in
<br />1991 when a statewide drought
<br />threatened San Diego County with
<br />50 percent cutbacks in water im-
<br />ports, which at the time comprised
<br />more than 90 percent of the coun-
<br />ty's supply,
<br />"The leadership of San Diego
<br />County got focused during that
<br />drought and said, 'Never again.'
<br />What this transfer has been about
<br />all along has been reliability,"
<br />Frahm said,
<br />Record rains of the state's "Mira-
<br />cle March" 1992 eased the drought,
<br />but did not erase the scare,
<br />Soon after, San Diego Mayor Su-
<br />san Golding mobilized the city's 10
<br />delegates on the 34-member water
<br />authority board to put a priority on
<br />developing new water supplies,
<br />warning that doubts about water
<br />reliability could scare away water-
<br />dependent high-tech and other in-
<br />dustries,
<br />"This is a very historic change,"
<br />Golding said of the agreement ye~-
<br />terday, "It will playa very Slgnul-
<br />cant role in advancing water policy
<br />in the state of California."
<br />Business. and political leaders al-
<br />so cast the agreement in terms of
<br />economic health.
<br />"Without water, we have no jobs.
<br />We have no economy. We can now
<br />feel that industry will be here and it
<br />will take us into the next century,"
<br />said Steve Cushman, outgoing
<br />chairman of the Greater San Diego
<br />Chamber of Commerce,
<br />State Sen, Steve Peace, D-EI Ca-
<br />jon, who sits on the Senate Commit-
<br />tee on Agriculture and Water, saId
<br />the agreement is about more than
<br />water.
<br />"It is about power and economic
<br />independence:' he said, "This is
<br />about whether we will be an eco-
<br />nomic appendage of the Los ."n-
<br />geles area or nat."
<br />
<br />"To me the whole thing is about
<br />trust," said Lloyd Allen, vice chair-
<br />man of the Imperial .district, "This
<br />is a historical mark for our area."
<br />Under the .pact, the wate~ aU-
<br />thority would begin to receive
<br />20 000 acre-feet of Colorado River
<br />wa'ter from the Imperial Valley's
<br />entitlement in 19"9,
<br />This would increase by 20,000
<br />acre-feet a year - as water con.
<br />servation works are installed -
<br />until it reaches at least 130,000
<br />acre-feet, which is about 29 per-
<br />cent as much water as is currently
<br />imported into San Diego County,
<br />Water imports comprise from 80
<br />percent to more than 95 percent of
<br />total water supply, depending on
<br />local rainfall,
<br />San Diego County imports about
<br />450 000 acre-feet of water from
<br />the MWD, which brings it from [he
<br />Colorado River and rivers in North-
<br />ern California,
<br />An acre-foot is enough to serve
<br />the household needs of two families
<br />of four for a year.
<br />Imports from the Imperial Valley
<br />could rise to as much as 200,000
<br />acre-fee. over a decade, or 44 per-
<br />cent as much water as the water
<br />authority imports in all, depending
<br />on the voluntary participation of
<br />Imperial Valley farmers and land-
<br />owners.
<br />They will be offered economic
<br />incentives to participate in the pro-
<br />gram, If many more of them than
<br />expected decide to participate, the
<br />Imperial district could sell up to
<br />300,000 acre-feet to the water au-
<br />thority under the pact.
<br />The water volwne that this coun-
<br />ty receives from MWD is not ex-
<br />pected to fall,
<br />"We expect that we will maintain
<br />the same usage of MWD supply,
<br />and that the (Imperial) water would
<br />be for future growth:' said Maur-
<br />een Stapleton, water authority gen-
<br />eral manager.
<br />The pact's initial term of 45
<br />years can be extended for 30 years
<br />bv either party, After the 75 years,
<br />a" free market in '.vater supplies is
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