Feds restrict California water usage
LA, San Diego may soon face 'dire' situation

By Shaun McKinnon
The Arizona Republic
Dec. 17, 2002

LAS VEGAS - Interior Secretary Gale Norton signed an unprecedented order on Monday restricting California's use of the Colorado River unless state officials can settle a dispute between water-rich farmers and thirsty coastal cities.

That prospect seemed increasingly unlikely as the lone holdout, a tiny irrigation district that takes more water from the river annually than Arizona, shrugged off a year-end deadline from Norton.

Norton won't actually reduce California's river allocation but simply enforce it, halting the state's ability to use water that other states along the Colorado leave unclaimed. Hardest hit by Norton's action will be Los Angeles and San Diego, which will lose more than half their portion of Colorado water, forcing them to draw on reserves sooner than expected. Both cities say they can tap other sources next year, but some experts predict shortages beyond that, especially if the drought persists.

Nevada, which had hitched some of its water hopes to California's political might, will suffer as well, losing a small pool of water that had been available in recent years as part of a 15-year plan to resolve the allocation issues.

Arizona will feel no direct effects; its share of the Colorado is unconnected to California's woes. Arizona officials endorsed Norton's decision on Monday but held out hope that the original agreement could be revived, avoiding a tug of war that could drag on for years, eventually ensnaring the other states.

Long-term shortages

More ominous are the threats of long-term water shortages in Southern California, which would send economic shock waves across the West. Few officials even dared predict what the loss of so much water could mean over the long term.

"It is a dire situation," said Ronald Gastelum, president and chief executive officer of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, the region's chief water supplier. "These are uncharted waters for us."

Larry Dozier, deputy general manager of the Central Arizona Project, urged the warring users to keep looking for a solution.

"It's not a catastrophe yet," he said. "If it takes them another two months or six months, maybe it's best they take the time to do it right."

The latest twist in the Western water wars unfolded on the opening day of the annual Colorado River Water Users Association conference, a normally sedate gathering that took on added importance with Norton's announcement.

The secretary was blunt in her keynote speech, insisting that, as river master on the Colorado, she must enforce the law that limits California's share. She avoided blaming the Imperial Irrigation District for derailing the overall agreement, but in a news conference later, she pulled few punches.

"There has already been a great deal of effort to accommodate the interests of Imperial," Norton said. "They have known for years that they were going to reach this point."

The Imperial district board on Dec. 9 rejected a plan to transfer water from its farmlands to San Diego, which has relied on the excess Colorado River water. District officials instead proposed a five-year deal to ease San Diego's immediate needs, but federal officials on Monday dismissed that offer as irrelevant.

The Imperial district board will meet next week to discuss the situation, but board member Andy Horne said Monday there are no plans to reconsider the San Diego water deal, not even in the face of Norton's ultimatum.

'Live within its means'

"California will have to learn next year how to live within its means," Horne said. "We know we have to be a part of the solution but in a manner that doesn't require us to make all the sacrifices. We do have water rights, and we will rely on the law to protect us."

The Imperial district holds rights to about 3.1 million acre-feet of Colorado River water, which is used to irrigate about 500,000 acres of farmland. By contrast, Arizona takes 2.8 million acre-feet of water from the river each year.

An acre-foot of water is about 326,000 gallons, enough to serve a five-person household for one year.

California's full legal share of the river is 4.4 million acre-feet, of which only 550,000 acre-feet belongs to Los Angeles and San Diego. Those two cities have taken as much as 800,000 additional acre-feet in recent years, water that will be lost under Norton's order.

Norton said forcing California to live within its legal allocation has become more important because of population growth throughout the West and, more recently, because of the drought. The Colorado River ran at its lowest level in more than a century this past year, which forced the government to draw heavily on its system of storage reservoirs, including Lakes Powell and Mead in northern Arizona