Water Summit Panelists Speak Of Hope For The Salton Sea

Panelists at the Desert Sun’s water and energy summit held Jan. 11 in Palm Springs discuss the future of the Salton Sea under the State’s Salton Sea Management Program. Pictured (from left to right) are Phil Rosentrater, executive director of the Salton Sea Authority, E. Joaquin Esquivel of the State Water Resources Control Board, Antonio Ortega of Imperial Irrigation District and Kim Delfino with Defenders of Wildlife. Bruce Wilcox, California Natural Resources Assistant Secretary in charge of Salton Sea Policy, also took part on the panel.

On Thursday, Jan. 11., representatives from parties engaged in the Salton Sea struck an optimistic tone regarding the Sea’s future during a water and energy summit sponsored by the Desert Sun newspaper, held in Palm Springs. The Salton Sea has continuously been a key focus of the annual summit, but this year was different—more

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An Overview Of The QSA Milestones That Will Be Ushered In This New Year

A farm field in the Imperial Valley is irrigated with sprinklers in December 2017. Sprinkler irrigation is one of the on-farm conservation measures farmers are implementing as part of the Water Transfer Agreement between the Imperial Irrigation District and the San Diego County Water Authority. The conservation program, funded by the Water Authority and implemented by IID and local farmers, is crucial to the success of the Quantification Settlement Agreement. In 2018 all conservation under the QSA and water transfer will be done through on-farm and system conservation methods.

In ringing in a new year, there is much to discuss in the world of water, specifically when it comes to the Colorado River, the Quantification Settlement Agreement (QSA), and the Water Transfer Agreement between the Water Authority and the Imperial Irrigation District. This year, 2018, brings with it critical

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McConnell Legacy Leaves Mark on Valley Agriculture

Paula McConnell Pangle, who leads the historic McConnell Ranch family trust, is photographed on an old milk wagon used by her great grandfather, Hardy McConnell, who founded the ranch 110 years ago in the Imperial Valley.

The year was 1908.

Hardy McConnell and his son Leslie were drawn by vast open lands and the great potential of the rugged, undeveloped Imperial Valley. Father and son left Temescal Canyon, near Corona, enroute to settle in the Imperial Valley, driving two teams of horses pulling wagons, hauling farm implements, chickens and leading a cow.

It took fourteen days to cross through the mountains and desert and arrive in Imperial. When they arrived, they went to work turning stretches of sand dunes into productive farmland using teams of horses and Fresno Scrapers.

It was Hardy who founded McConnell Ranch in the Imperial Valley. Today, 110 years later,

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