Water Authority holds public board meeting to discuss alternatives for conveying conserved water

The Water Authority’s independent Colorado River water supplies are delivered through the Colorado River Aqueduct. The Water Authority is assessing potential pipeline and tunnel alignments that could move these supplies from Imperial Dam to San Vicente Reservoir. This map shows alternative routes for such a conveyance system.

The San Diego County Water Authority held a special board meeting on Thursday, Sept. 14, to hear information on an upcoming decision related to the future duration of the Water Transfer Agreement with the Imperial Irrigation District (IID) and the Exchange Agreement with the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD). While the initial term of the Transfer Agreement with IID is 45 years (through 2047), the Exchange Agreement to transport the transfer water has an initial term of 35 years (through 2037). The Water Authority has the unilateral option to either end the transfer 10 years early in 2037, or to

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New State water and park bond could bring $200 million to the Salton Sea

Tractors build the earthen berms recently for the Red Hill Marina wetlands project at the Salton Sea. Work has resumed on the wetlands, which will cover as much as 530 acres of exposed playa. The Red Hill Marina wetlands is one of the projects included in the State’s Salton Sea Management Program Phase 1 10-year Plan, which could receive a $200 million boost from a proposed water and parks bond.

Votes by the State Senate and Assembly on Friday, Sept. 15, in support of a $4 billion water and park bond includes $200 million for the Salton Sea—not quite as much as stakeholders would have liked to have seen in the bond—but still a significant boost to the State’s Salton Sea Management Program (SSMP) Phase I 10-Year Plan. That is if the bond is approved by voters in 2018. The legislation for the bond, SB 5, is currently in the

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State Water Board Considering Draft Stipulated Order on the Salton Sea

San Diego County Water Authority General Manager Maureen Stapleton (left) and Imperial County Counsel Katherine Turner discuss the jointly proposed Stipulated Order to address restoration at the Salton Sea before the State Water Resources Control Board during its workshop held Sept. 7 in Sacramento. IID General Manager Kevin Kelley also participated on the panel. The Draft Stipulated Order was proposed by IID, Imperial County and the San Diego County Water Authority

On Thursday, Sept. 7, the State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board) held a workshop on the Salton Sea to consider the Draft Stipulated Order on the Salton Sea proposed jointly by the Imperial Irrigation District (IID), Imperial County and the San Diego County Water Authority (Water Authority). The State Water Board listened to a full-day of testimony, and is expected to vote on the proposal in the coming weeks.

The Draft Stipulated Order, which would be an amendment to the original Water Rights Order that approved the Quantification Settlement Agreement water

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