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. (~ .f os ngeles mimes FRIDAY. DECEMBER 12. 1997 COPYRIGIIT 1997/THE n\tES \IIRROR C()\l1'^r-;, Cet /170 PAGES Key Deal Near on Shift of Water to Cities From Farms I"Dr lhe lirsl lime. Kelley said, Southern California is trying La solve its problems within its own region rather thar. reaching out to Northerr. California. the Sierra Nevada Dr lhe Ccn,,,'1 Valley-so, lutions that are becoming politi- cally untenable. Allhough water disputes tend lo Pl....... WATER, A30 Conlinued from At be measured in decades, all three major parties-lhe MWD, lhe 1m, pcrial Irrigation District and the San Diego County Water Author, ity-secm motivated to make a deal quickly lor alleaslthree key reasons: . To forestall U.S. lnlerior Sec, retary Bruce Babbitt from cutting back on California's draw from the Colorado River-already 20% over its limit. Babbitt is set to give a key speec h next week in Las Vegas on the subject. . To keep the state Legislature from gelling involved and possibly setting terms for the water sales that all three parties might Cind unpalatable. . To keep together the Cragile alliance that has been trying to rind a solution to the pollution and saltwater problem in the Sun Francisco/Sacramento-San Joa- quin Delta. a waterway that IS crucial to the state's water supply and economic health. . Policy: In accord hailed as national model, San Diego could make cheaper purchases from Imperial Valley instead of MWD. Agency could OK pact this weekend. By TONY PERRY, TIMES STAFf WRITER SAN DIEGO-In a move lhat could influence state and federal policy for decades. San Diego County and the Imperial Valley announced a tentative multibillion-dollar deal Thursday to shift water from some farms to thirsty urban and suburban areas. The deal could provide the county with enough water for up to 2,4 million people for less money than it has been paying the mighty Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. The arrangement will be sealed once the county reaches an agree- ment with the MWD over the use of its 242-mile Colorado Aqueduct to bnng the water from lhe Colorado River. That could come as early as this weekend as negotiators. goaded by Gov. Pete Wilson. return to lhe bargaining table-allhough details that are still on the table could derail Dr delay finali'Zation. MWD officials have retreated significantly. albeit reluclanlly. from earlier positions on the price of the waler delivery. If San Diego Counly and the MWD cannot reach an agreement, key state legislators are set to push legislation that would gel lhe deal done. State Sen. David G. Kelley (R, Idyllwild) hailed the pian as a model for the state and nation: a way to shift water from agricul- tural areas to cities without victim- izing either side. The state's per- petual conundrum is that the agricultural areas have the water. but the ClUes have the people. '\ ~ \~ .;.. One suggestion has been to build a canal around the delta to keep Northern California water flowing to Southern California. But environmentalists and other Northern California pressure groups are liable to bolt fronl the alliancc and light a "peripheral canal" idea unless they are con- vinced that Southern California is serious about finding better ways to sol ve its water shortages than "stealmg" the north's water. In 1982. stale voters rejected a pe- ripheral canal measure. At the heart oC Thursday's deal IS San Diego's decades-old drive for water independence and its continUing anger at having been forccd to join the MWD dUring World War II. Bereft of ground