The Colorado River鈥檚 largest water user agreed to leave some of its supplies in Lake Mead in exchange for a massive federal payout. But environmental advocates say the plan was rushed and could harm wildlife habitat and air quality.
The Imperial Irrigation District, which supplies water to farms in the Southern California desert, stands to receive more than $500 million from the Inflation Reduction Act. The cutbacks, spread out over the next three years, are part of a plan to prop up Lake Mead. Mead is the nation鈥檚 largest reservoir and holds water for farms and major cities like Los Angeles, Phoenix and Las Vegas.
State and federal leaders are under pressure to cut back on water demand as climate change shrinks supplies. Imperial, which has a larger allocation of Colorado River water than any other farming district or city between Wyoming and Mexico, has ended up in the crosshairs as a result.
鈥淚ID has cleared enormous hurdles to make this deal happen,鈥� JB Hamby, Imperial鈥檚 vice chairman, wrote in a press release. 鈥淭here is no excuse for inaction anywhere along the river.鈥�
In 2023, farmers in the Imperial Valley told KUNC that payments were the only way to get them to use less. That message has landed with policymakers too. The federal government set aside $4 Billion for Colorado River work, and a sizable portion of that has been directed specifically at programs that incentivize farmers to reduce their water use. Those programs have already spent big in the Imperial Valley and other faraway farm districts.
But as money flows to the Imperial Valley, environmental and health advocates want to make sure there鈥檚 enough set aside to stave off negative impacts of bringing less water to the area.
Changes to Imperial Valley water use are virtually inseparable from changes to the Salton Sea.
It鈥檚 a giant lake on the Valley鈥檚 north end, and it鈥檚 mostly filled with runoff from nearby farm fields. As the valley鈥檚 farmers use less water, the Salton Sea will continue to dry up, reducing habitat for the flocks of migratory birds that stop there and producing dust storms that increase the risk of asthma and other respiratory diseases among the valley鈥檚 residents.
Nataly Escobedo Garcia, water policy coordinator at the Leadership Counsel for Justice & Accountability, co-signed a July letter asking the federal government to go further in protecting wildlife and air quality as it works on water cutbacks near the Salton Sea.
鈥淲e completely believe in conserving that water,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e want to make sure that we have a healthy system, because we also depend on the Colorado River water system. But given the amount of funding that's available to do this conservation, we don't see why some of that can't go towards these direct impacts that communities are going to feel.鈥�
Some critics of the conservation plan鈥檚 rollout said the process was rushed, and didn鈥檛 allow enough time for public comment on its impacts to the environment. The conservation agreement was inked about five hours after the federal government released its Environmental Assessment.
鈥淵ou had ample time to do a full environmental impact report, which our community deserves,鈥� Eric Reyes, executive director of local nonprofit Los Amigos de la Comunidad, said at the Imperial Irrigation District board meeting on Tuesday.
鈥淢y disappointment overflows,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he public needs to be informed, we need to be engaged, and this is not the way to do it, at the last second.鈥�
This story is part of ongoing coverage of the Colorado River, produced by KUNC and supported by the Walton Family Foundation. KUNC is solely responsible for its editorial coverage.
