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Show Natioi i ••••• USA TUUAY • WhUMSDAY, OCTOBER 2,2002- HA War over water splits California cities, farms Federal officials threaten to cut the state's use of Colorado River water to its legal limit, and the region is scrambling to make up for the potential loss i Kasindorf I o m CO g i< O n • H O DO m 7& i° to 8 tvJ sources of fornia's coast al ( rainfall, " RO, Calif. - Pioneer farmers had a vision in • nia desert 100 years ago. They would si- ? r from the Colorado River, and the dusty aUey would bloom, ion " was no mirage. 50,000 irrigated acres burst with a cornu- ash crops, lush green islands in a sea of id that bakes under volcanic heat. Cotton, italoupes, alfalfa hay for cattle, lemons and a 1 of vegetables earn the valley's 400 farms t year in revenue. ? ft farming uses massive amounts of water, uts the valley on the front line in a war over le rapidly growing West. It's a war that pits gainst cities, California against six other Western states and one part of the nation's most populous state against another. Time to find a compromise is running out. California has long used more water from the Colorado River than it's legally entitled to. Now, the federal government is threatening to cut the state's water from the river on Jan. 1 by an amount equivalent to the annual needs of 1.5 million families. That could kill lawns from San Diego to Santa Bar- I'saiaauifAuiA. f& ntOttuii people in a six- county coastal region to ration showers and laundry loads. flaring as the deadline nears and offi- iring the Imperial Valley to forestall the i Bid require farmers to idle some land to make available to coastal urban areas. One frustrated ial Valley irrigation czar earlier this year called ) ianne Feinstein, D- Calif., " a pig- eyed, gasbag, acratic sack of crap." v the conflict is resolved could have enormous ations for the entire West. Fresh water is rela- scarce in much of the region, which is expected • 1 million residents a year for the next three es. If battling breaks out in California over redis- ng farm water to cities, wary farmers in other may dig in their heels, and it could take ye and politicians to sort out tl CO (-< C CD n QJ JITCL co ing C/> r » . ftL < T> r- West n CO" 4? TO ili! NearCalexico: from a clogged " Imperial Val they're going t if its w says Universit ar the West in he re's excessive use i for growing cities v professor Dav! In the Imperial Valley: Migrant workers transplant broccoli as the sun sets. They transplant at night because day temperatures would kill the plants. In the background, an established field of broccoli is irrigated. California takes 20% more water than it's allowed • merin £ t. removes deb; fcterfrc {$ '. o River supplies the valley CO he conflict l^ Wnei • imagine in t re normally abundant rainf I iakes gene : erplem 4*> lia faces deadline to cut use of river water overnment is pressuring the state to begin reducing its reliance on the Colorado Riv sidents of Southern California use water from the river. Water is pumped 242 miles from the ri / Lake Matthews. It is stored there until n A by Los Angeles, San Diego and other ci D O 3 CO •- t ) n: AnabelRi( n Dieg snot to cities ' s growth are hoenix, Denvi will run out ion as 2030 il ? Colorado. Ca ) vet, and mos iwn irrigation in water beca . KKI IOU5 t"- » <-' l* says the first keep using it irst right to t ireas get. 1 federal offic ' anted choice go County er ? very year 01 1 Southern C water cutbacl : film Chinato _ ackNicholsor ty^ WW^ ah Cross ( Join a plot to steal > ipe it to Los Angeles, uture, Mr. Gittes," Cross 1 ) scai- winning original si - y. In 1905, aLosAngele That's when E of the valle hurled epithi he meant not didn't apologi ' Negotiate sr ake tuvasu o 3 CL Q © 00 o o Continued from 11A gooned the city into quietly buying up farmers' water rights in the Owens Valley at the base of the Sierra Ne « Aqu. watc last duct theii stop gine ing, he 233- mile Los Angeles opened in 1913 to bring he city. The dying valley's ' rs dynamited the aque- 927, too late to escape m and only temporarily he flow to Los Angeles. h land- grabbing, bold en- and political horse- trad- ngeles imported enough rise from a second- tier Key provision in conservation plar have farmers keep some fields idk irrigation water to San Diego. Totals in millions of acre feet • Allocated use H Estimated use, 2002 4.4 2.82.8 Colorado River to surplus 0.3 0.3 Nev. 1 Note: On- Calif. Sources: Upper Colorado River Commission, USA IX of the Continental Divide and near Denver. The river drops more than 10,000 feet on its course, fed by tributaries in Wyoming, Utah, New Mexico, Nevada and Arizona. Controlled by dams and reservoirs, it rushes through Arizona's Grand makes good on threats to deprive Californians of the excess water, coastal customers would lose an average 17% of their supply. The San Diego area's 3 million people, highly dependent on the Colorado, would lose 30%. .' Miens. USA TODAY to cripple the economy. If shortages continue for four or five years, then they ( Californians) would be scrambling awfully hard. But for the first year, it'll get people's attention real good, make them work harder on some answers," utions: The could scrap ivors farms, 370s, to give Farmers say thWBH^^^^ P tion has improved and that high- living folks on the coast are the water hogs, " i would suggest that people with their swimming pools up there, they drain their pools to get water," says alfalfa farmer Joe Rothfleisch, 55. But Southern Californians have greatly cut their use of water with low- flow shower heads and toilets and other efforts. Daily consumption has dropped from 205 gallons a person in 1980 to 170 today. Los Angeles' water use has grown only 7% since 1970 despite a population increase of 3 5%. For all their reluctance, many farmers are resigned to ceding water to the cities in the end. " 1 don't think we're going to be able to stop it," Rothfleisch says. " The key word for us is: Negotiate smart." California's plan for saving water would make the state live with its allotted share of the Colorado River by 2016. To do that, California would shift water from farms to cities, store water underground, conserve and possibly remove salt from seawater. Neighboring states like the plan, but before cutting California any slack after Dec. 31, they want to see an Imperial Valley water sale as proof that the state has the willpower for dieting. Federal officials support the farm- to- city transfer as a national model for a future in which water is apt to be scarcer in many states. Cities are growing. Underground water levels are sinking. Rising global temperatures may shrink rivers. Farmers, handsomely paid for their water by wealthy cities, could afford to leave land idle. Or they could buy water- conservation technology that wouid pi (- ho r. ir-. l urai r. f lifo rfarr. i » - a l « .„ i |
