Growing more than 100 crops, these counties are among the richest farming regions in the country, each generating more than $1 billion in sales in 2021.
Applying more than 5 feet of water per acre of land each year allows farmers in Imperial Irrigation District, Wellton-Mohawk Irrigation District, Palo Verde Irrigation District, and a half dozen others to produce a staggering bounty of vegetables, grains, forage, and seed crops. The Colorado River is the ingredient that turned these drylands green. These irrigated areas are among the harshest climates in the United States, arid lowland regions of the Sonoran Desert that receive no more than 4 inches of rain in an average year. But it’s wet water that saves everyone’s bacon while you’re trying to develop some long-term criteria.”īell peppers are one of roughly a hundred crops grown in Imperial Irrigation District. “Why should that be a deal breaker?” Glennon asked about a nearly $2 billion annual price tag. Robert Glennon, a water law and policy expert and professor emeritus at the University of Arizona said that though the dollar figures may seem high at first glance, they are miniscule compared with the risks involved. Noble did not return multiple phone messages seeking comment. As we look at the risk to our urban areas, we don’t believe that you can say that is too much money.” “As we look at the risk to other industries. “As we look at the risk to economies,” Noble added. He suggested a four-year program with a total cost between $4 billion and $8 billion. Noble outlined the agriculture conservation plan at the July 13 meeting of the Arizona Reconsultation Committee, a group that is advising the state government on Colorado River negotiations. Davis cited the accelerated timeline and delicate nature of the negotiations. But observers in the basin do not consider that a firm deadline. Camille Touton, the commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation, told the states to present a plan by mid-August. It is unclear at this point how many irrigation districts are on board. If all 925,000 acres participated in the program, the total cost would be $1.4 billion a year. A range of values are being discussed, but a center point is $1,500 per acre-foot. The dollars at play could be significant. “And that risk and the cost analysis that goes into it is going to require some sort of compensation because they have a water right.” “If agriculture steps up and makes it possible for the river to survive, they are taking a huge risk for their industry,” said Wade Noble, coordinator of the Yuma County Agriculture Water Coalition, which represents farmers in southwest Arizona. Irrigation districts are willing to contribute - as long as they are paid. Federal officials want to prevent a catastrophic outcome: the reservoir dropping so low that it can no longer generate hydropower or deliver water downstream. The forgone water would remain in Lake Mead, which is at its lowest level since 1937, when the big reservoir was being filled. As many as 925,000 acre-feet could be part of the current deal, about half or a quarter of the total cuts the federal government is seeking. The discussions today could set the tone. Agriculture consumes about 80 percent of the basin’s water, making it a cornerstone for bringing demand in line with supply. The emergency actions foreshadow difficult negotiations that will take place in the coming years as a river that irrigates 5 million acres and supplies 40 million people with a portion of their drinking water is decimated by a drying climate. In the Yuma area that amounts to a 20 percent cut, according to Tom Davis, manager of the Yuma County Water Users’ Association. The Colorado River Indian Tribes, whose reservation abuts the river, also hold significant secure water rights.Ī plan is now circulating among those districts to forgo 1 acre-foot of water per irrigated acre next year. Irrigation districts in Arizona’s Yuma County and California’s Imperial and Riverside counties control more of the river’s water than any other entity in the basin. With key reservoirs Mead and Powell at record lows and despite the continued decline of the Salton Sea, federal officials are demanding historic cuts in water use next year, on the order of 2 million to 4 million acre-feet, or roughly one-third of the river’s recent annual flow. Knowing they are targets, farmers in southern Arizona and California who receive irrigation water from the Colorado River are discussing a plan that could go a long way toward meeting a federal conservation mandate in the drying basin. These discussions foreshadow difficult negotiations in the coming years to balance water demand with a declining supply.Such a plan would require billions in funding.A plan is circulating among irrigation districts in southern Arizona and California to reduce Colorado River use by as much as 925,000 acre-feet.
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