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<br />1. Purpose of al!:reement - The agreement provides that the Imperial Irrigation District (lID) <br />will undertake and will contract with Imperial Valley landowners to undertake water conservation <br />efforts in order to reduce the use of Colorado River water within lID. The agreement also <br />provides that lID wilI transfer the conserved water to San Diego County Water Authority <br />(Authority) in exchange for monetary payments from the Authority. lID and the Authority will <br />use their best efforts to cooperate during the term of the agreement to achieve its purpose. <br /> <br />Comment: The Authority will acquire an independent, reliable, alternate long-term water <br />supply to provide drought protection and to accommodate anticipated growth in municipal, <br />domestic, and agricultural uses. lID and valley farmers will receive the funding necessary to <br />proceed with innovative water conservation efforts that lID and the landowners can undertake <br />without resorting to the fallowing of productive farmland. Southern California as a whole will <br />benefit since this transfer is viewed as a linchpin to a broader resolution of problems which relate <br />to the overall management of the Colorado River. As an essential part of the "California Plan" to <br />live within California's 4.4 million acre feet Colorado River apportionment, the lID-Authority <br />transfer should lead to modified river operations which wilI be of significant benefit to the <br />Authority and the other MWD member agencies. <br /> <br />2. Status of water transferred <br /> <br />a) The agreement does not provide for any transfer or assignment ofIID's senior water rights <br />to the Authority. Rather, the Authority will have a right to use the water conserved within lID <br />during the term of the agreement and during any renewal period. At the end of the transfer period, <br />and any renewal period, the conserved water will return to lID for future use. <br /> <br />b) For Colorado River accounting purposes, and as part of the reliability the Authority is <br />paying to obtain, the conserved water transferred to the Authority will retain the senior priority of <br />lID's water rights. <br /> <br />c) The agreement provides that the transfer will be carried out under the authority of <br />California Water Code section 101 I, which facilitates transfers of this type. Under that statutory <br />authority, the beneficial use and the senior water rights remain with lID, so the use of conserved <br />water by the Authority wilI be viewed by the Secretary of the Interior (Secretary), for Colorado <br />River accounting purposes, as part of lID's water use. <br /> <br />3. Transportation of water <br /> <br />a) The agreement provides that it is the Authority's responsibility to provide for <br />transportation of the conserved water to the Authority's service area. lID's responsibility is to <br />provide the conserved water to the Authority at Imperial Dam. lID and the Authority will work <br />together to secure approval for the diversion of the water at Lake Havasu on the Colorado River. <br />It is the Authority's responsibility to arrange for the transportation of the conserved water <br />through the MWD delivery system. <br /> <br />b) The agreement is contingent on the Authority, within two years of the execution of the <br />agreement, being able to obtain from MWD an acceptable long-term wheeling agreement. The <br /> <br />1498 <br />