11D 2024-2026 Temporary Colorado River System Water Conservation Project

11D 2024-2026 Temporary Colorado River System Water Conservation Project

The Proposed Action will involve the conservation of Colorado River water by IID pursuant to the SCIA. The water conservation will occur within the IID Contract Service Area, which is also the “Proposed Action Area,” located in Imperial County, California. IID would agree to conserve a target volume of 250,000 AF, up to a maximum of 300,000 AF, of Colorado River water each year from 2024 through 2026, targeting a cumulative total of 800,000 AF, but no more than a cumulative maximum total of 900,000 AF, of water between 2024 and 2026, which will remain in Lake Mead to benefit the Colorado River System. The terms and conditions of the Colorado River System water conservation and funding are set forth in the SCIA with Reclamation. IID has received delivery of approximately 2.5 MAFY from the Colorado River during the period from 2019 through 2022. This volume is down from the approximately 3 MAFY volumes experienced prior to the implementation of water conservation programs initiated under the QSA beginning in 2003. (IID 2003, IID 2023.) Annual Colorado River water deliveries to IID vary annually primarily based on cumulative agricultural demands in the IID Contract Service Area that are affected by several factors, including economic and climatic conditions. The water conservation programs implemented pursuant to the Proposed Action would temporarily further reduce IID deliveries to approximately 2.2 MAFY for three years from 2024 through 2026. Colorado River water deliveries to IID would return to pre-Proposed Action volumes beginning in 2027 upon the expiration of the SCIA and conclusion of the water conservation programs provided for by the SCIA. The Proposed Action will provide the funding for IID’s implementation of water conservation programs under which agricultural water users conserve water, thereby reducing water diversions from the Colorado River at Imperial Dam. The potential conservation programs include the following: - On-Farm Efficiency Conservation Program (OFECP) or Simplified OFECP, - Deficit Irrigation Program (DIP), and - Farm Unit Fallowing Program (FUFP). Under the Proposed Action, IID may implement the existing OFECP or a simplified OFECP. The maximum acreage potentially participating in the OFECP or the simplified OFECP is 65,000 acres per year resulting in up to a maximum of 50,000 acre-feet per year of efficiency-based conserved water. Under the Proposed Action, IID may implement the DIP for agricultural water users on fields anywhere in the IID Contract Service Area that are owned or leased for agricultural use and cultivating alfalfa, bermuda grass, or klein grass, or seeds for one of these three crops. Participating fields would be allowed to choose between a 45-day to 60-day time period within the months of June, July, August, and September during which time the field would not be irrigated. The maximum acreage potentially participating in the DIP is 180,000 acres per year resulting in up to a maximum of 226,000 acre-feet of conserved water per year. Participating fields would be paid for the water conservation volume attributable to the fallowed 45-day to 60-day time period on a per acre-foot basis. Under the Proposed Action, IID may implement the FUFP. Farm units are an aggregation of fields managed by an agricultural water user. Participating farm units will forego delivery of irrigation water on certain fields within the farm unit for the term of 6 months to one year. The FUFP would be for a 6-month to one-year fallowing period beginning July 1st of one year up to June 30th of the following year consistent with typical agricultural lease terms. To implement the FUFP, IID will determine the total volume of conserved water required for the FUFP based on participation in the OFECP and/or DIP and the remaining conserved water volume needed to meet IID’s conservation targets. Each farm unit would be offered a pro-rata share of the total FUFP conserved water volume. The agricultural water user would be allowed to accept the volume offered and identify which field(s) in a farm unit to be fallowed. The maximum acreage potentially participating in the FUFP is 34,450 acres resulting in up to a maximum of 172,250 acre-feet of conserved water for a one-year period. However, due to the term of the FUFP, IID would only be able to implement one one-year program by the end of 2026, from July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2026. Under this one-year program, for the 6 months in 2025 (July 1 through December 31) the maximum acreage potentially participating in the FUFP is 34,450 acres resulting in a water conservation volume of up to a maximum of 86,250 acre-feet. Similarly, for the 6 months in 2026 (January 1 through June 30), the maximum acreage potentially participating in the FUFP is 34,450 acres resulting in a water conservation volume up to a maximum of up to 86,250 acre-feet. If IID implements a 6-month program before or after the one-year program, any 6-month period would be the same maximum acreage potentially participating in the FUFP and the same maximum water conservation volume resulting from that acreage as set forth above. Participating farm units would be paid for the water conservation volume attributable to the fallowed fields for the 6-months to one-year term on a per acre-foot basis.

Brawley, Calexico, Calipatria, El Centro, Holtville, Imperial, Westmorland

Imperial

Countywide

Imperial