Water officials end Las Vegas meet without Colorado River plan

Tuesday December 17, 2002

By SETH HETTENA
Associated Press Writer

LAS VEGAS (AP) Faced with a federal cutback in their water supply, California's biggest water users scrambled to revive a crucial deal that would change the way the state uses its water only to find a salty, inland lake blocking their way.

Negotiators from the Interior Department and Southern California water agencies went home Tuesday after four days of meeting in Las Vegas without reaching a breakthrough that might stop Interior Secretary Gale Norton from cutting the amount of water California draws from the Colorado River.

``There aren't any breakthroughs,'' said Bennett Raley, an assistant secretary in the U.S. Interior department. ``Other than the hope for a miracle,'' he said California would see a cut in the amount of Colorado water it draws in 2003.

The talks at the annual convention of the Colorado River Water Users Association were aimed at reviving a historic pact designed to reduce the state's overuse of the river. California has used more than its fair share of water for years because the six other states that draw from the Colorado River didn't use their full allotments.

But with rapid growth in the West combined with the worst drought in the river's recorded history, the Interior Department is forcing California to live with less water. The state has a Dec. 31 deadline to take steps to reduce its use of river water or face immediate cuts.

Water agencies that supply Los Angeles and San Diego said they have enough reserves to last two years, but they hoped a deal could be reached before New Year's Day.

To reach a deal, negotiators will have to come to grips with the Salton Sea in California's southeastern Imperial Valley. Concerns over the sea were a major factor in a decision last week by an Imperial water board to narrowly reject a transfer of water from desert farms to San Diego for the next 75 years.

The agreement was a cornerstone of a broader pact to reduce California's use of the Colorado River.

Andy Horne, a member of Imperial's water board, likened the Salton Sea to a ``proverbial 800-pound gorilla'' that everyone was happy to ignore as long as it slept.

``The gorilla has stood up,'' he said Tuesday at the conference at Caesars Palace casino. ``And it's looking for something to eat.''

Horne said given the complexity of the issues, it was unlikely a deal would be reached in the next two weeks.

The Salton Sea, formed by a flood nearly a century ago and fed by farm runoff, is a winter-stopping ground for 4 million birds.

Imperial officials worry that salt, which has increased in the lake due to runoff, will kill off endangered species, and the county will be blamed. They are asking for an exemption as a condition of signing the deal, thus linking the fate of the Salton Sea to the future of California's water supply.

Raley, the Bush administration's point man on Western water issues, said the Imperial Irrigation District's request goes too far by seeking protection for species that are not at risk today, but may become endangered in the years to come.

``To be blunt, IID's request ... would represent one of the most stunning changes in ESA (Endangered Species Act) policy imaginable,'' he said.

Dennis Underwood, vice president of the Metropolitan Water District, which supplies water to 17 million people in Los Angeles and San Diego, said he remained optimistic a deal could be reached before Dec. 31 if Imperial officials were willing to take a chance to ensure stable water supply in California for years to come.

``There is a certain amount of risk you have to accept,'' he said.

(Copyright 2002 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)