Feds will pay California farmers not to use Colorado River water

By Alan Halaly Las Vegas Review-Journal

3 months ago

Farmer John Hawk stands by as he irrigates his onion fields in California's Imperial Valley nea ... — Farmer John Hawk stands by as he irrigates his onion fields in California’s Imperial Valley near Holtville on Sept. 3, 2002. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon, File)

Tom Brundy stands among alfalfa on one of the fields at his farm on Feb. 28, 2023, near Calexico, Calif. Brundy, an alfalfa grower in California’s Imperial Valley, thinks farmers reliant on the shrinking Colorado River can do more to save water and use it more efficiently. But one practice that’s off-limits for Brundy is fallowing — leaving fields unplanted to spare the water that would otherwise irrigate crops. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Imperial Valley farmer Jack Vessey checks on his crops in Holtville, Calif., on Sept. 6, 2023.

A key Colorado River conservation goal just got more realistic.

The Bureau of Reclamation approved an agreement this week that will keep 700,000 acre-feet of water in Lake Mead that would have been used by the Imperial Irrigation District, which uses more water from the river than any city or farming district in the West.

In return, the bureau will dole out millions in federal funds to the influential district and the farmers within it.

Because water law in the West recognizes the principle of “first in time, first in right,” those with the most senior water rights, such as farmers, are given legal priority to pump water from the river.

“This is all hands on deck,” Reclamation Commissioner Camille Calimlim Touton said at an event in Las Vegas on Wednesday. “They recognized that, one, they’re senior in their water rights. But two, if Lake Mead is insolvent, the agricultural community that depends on that water is in trouble. It’s been a fantastic partnership.”

The agreement will help the Lower Basin — California, Arizona and Nevada — meet its pledge to conserve 3 million acre-feet of water from the river by the end of 2026. Southern California’s Salton Sea, which is drying up and contributing to air pollution, will receive $250 million for restoration efforts.

This significant bucket of water saved will mark half of California’s commitment of conserving 1.6 million acre-feet of water, according to a news release from the irrigation district.

Nevada, which reigns as the driest state in the nation yet is allowed to use the smallest share of the Colorado River, has a considerably lesser agricultural presence than the lush green regions of Imperial Valley, California, or Yuma, Arizona. Much of the agriculture that does happen in rural Nevada is largely fed by pumping groundwater, rather than water from the river.

Still, agriculture — and, more specifically, alfalfa growing — is the largest use of water across the Colorado River Basin.

“IID has cleared enormous hurdles to make this deal happen,” JB Hamby, California’s chief Colorado River negotiator and vice chair of the irrigation district, said in a statement. “There is no excuse for inaction anywhere along the river.”

Contact Alan Halaly at ahalaly@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlanHalaly on X.