OCTOBER 17. 2003 FRIDAY Elie 51m Biego OPINION huioumibuue. Bringing water security to San Diego By Gale A. Norton he people of San Diego have good reason to breathe a collec- tive sign of relief. Thanks to the patience. perseverance and hard work of their leaders. includ- ing Maureen Stapleton and her staff at the San Diego County WaterAuthority. along with dozens of other low]. state and federal of?cials, San Diego has se- cured a reliable supply of additional wa- terto help meet the community?s vital needs for decades to come. The 2003 Colorado River Water De- livery Agreement will enable Califor- nia to meet the needs of its citizens -- urban and rural -- in a manner that re- spects the rights of the other Colorado River Basin states. The historic pact. which clears the way for the largest. long-term agricul- ture-to-urban water transfers in US. history. will supply San Diego about a third of its future water needs. The San Diego County Water Authority will receive up to 200.000 acre-feet an- nually from the Imperial Valley Irriga- tion District. the state's largest user of Colorado River water. The transfers will continue for as long as 75 years. Initially. San Diego will pay $258 an acre-foot The San Diego CountyWaterAuthority also will pay for water conservation mea- sures in the Imperial Valley. Up to 1.6 million acre-feet of addi- tional water. which Imperial could con- serve. would be sold to the state. for resale to Southern California cites and towns. For 17 million residean of Southern California cities. these sales provide a critically needed water sup- ply on which to build their future. For Imperial Valley. the transfers could generate $2 billion over 75 years. The key to this agreement? and to ful?lling California's 1929 promise to live within its 4.4 million acre-foot limit was quantifying. or dividing. the state's share of Colorado River water among its southern farming and ur- ban communities. Quand?mtion determining who owns how much water was critical to the ability of California to use mar- ketbased transfers of water from farmsto cities to meetitsneeds within its legal entitlement However. this quanti?cation has been a dif?cult and elusive goal since 1931. The framework to implement to- day?s agreementwas reached after years of dif?arltnegotiations. In late 2000. California. the other six Bash states. and the [one rior agreed on this homework. known Norton Is U.S. secretary of the Interior. as the Interim Surplus Guidelines. which offers California a choice. If the state meets all of the guidelines? bench marks. it would continue to have a grace period. allowing access to extra water over a 15-year period during the transition down to its 4.4 million acre- foot limit. If California failed to meet a bench mark. it would immediately lose access to that extra water. Despite the efforts of many local. state and federal of?cials. California failed to meet the ?rst major bench mark under the Interim Surplus Guidelines on Dec. 31. 2001. and auto- matically lost its access to the extra Colorado River water available under the guidelines. Since then. negotiations continued among the San Diego County Water Authorityand three other California wa- ter agencies. Interior. and representa- titres of all seven Colorado River Basin states. All parties worked through an astounding series of dif?cult issues. As a result of the hard work. dedica- tion and persistence of those negotia- tors. we mark a historic turning point for California and the Basin states. We celebrate the fact that California water management agencies have agreed among themselves as to how Califor- nia's 4.4 million acre-feet will be allo- cated within the state. By executing this pact. California will keepits 1929 promisetolimititsuseof Colorado Riverwater to 4.4 million acre- Barbara Cummings feet by adopting speci?c. incremental steps to gradually reduce its use over the next 14 years. The state also will be able to provide water for San Diego and its other growing cities in the southern halfofthestate. asweilas its farming communities. and address the environ- mental concerns of the Salton Sea The agreement allows farming com- munities in Southern California to strengthen their economies through water ef?ciency projects. canal mod- ernization. conservation. and water marketing. litigation regarding use of Colorado River water also has been re- solved. For all seven states in the Colorado River Basin. the agreement provides certainty. allowing them to protect their authorized allocations and meet their future water needs. in addition. this pact provides the critical water supply necessary to ?nally resolve the water rights claims of the La Jolla. Pala, Pauma. Rincon and San Pasqual bands of Mission Indians. Relying on the promises made in the agreement1 have fully reinstated the grace period of the interim Sur- plus Guidelines. With this agreement. con?ict on the riveris sti?ed. Our conunitment to the Law of the Colorado River remains clear. The future of San Diego and the Colorado River Basin is made more securebythis addition to the law of the River.