A Cannon Shot Over Water

In a rational world, the state’s share of Colorado River water would sensibly be reallocated to give more to the cities and less to farmers. After all, the present formula for distributing water dates to 1931, when California had fewer than 6 million residents.

Conditions have of course changed sharply over the last 67 years. Water demand has grown exponentially. But the Imperial Irrigation District and several smaller farming districts still are entitled to more than 75% of California’s Colorado River water. In a four-page policy position paper adopted recently, the board of directors of the Metropolitan Water District, which wholesales water for Southern California, dared to suggest that the U.S. Interior Department is not distributing California’s Colorado River water “in the manner that best meets the public need.”

MWD officials have fired a shot in what could be a new urban-rural water war. Not surprisingly, Imperial Irrigation District officials retaliated with the threat of protracted legal action if the MWD actually tries to grab some of the farmers’ water. Imperial enjoys a platinum right to Colorado River water going back to early in the century. But MWD officials counter that Imperial is wasting massive amounts of water that properly should go to the MWD and thus is forfeiting its rights.

The farmers indeed must demonstrate they are not wasting water. But beyond that, future allocations of Colorado River supplies need to be determined by negotiation and not by legal battles. A struggle in the courts could unravel the whole complex of laws, court rulings and agreements known as the Law of the River. Then we would really understand the meaning of “water war.”