Southern California's Imperial Irrigation District supplies water to farmers who grow most of the nation’s winter vegetables.
Save money with these awesome Insider DealsJessica Humes, Environmental Project Manager for the Imperial Irrigation District, looks over a pond refuge for the desert pupfish, Friday, March 22, 2024, in Imperial, Calif. The Imperial Irrigation District created a plan to scale back draws from the Colorado River in a bid to preserve the waterway following years of drought. But a tiny, tough fish got in the way.
Last year, Arizona, Nevada and California offered to cut back on their use of Colorado River water in exchange for money from the federal government to avoid forced cuts. California, which gets the most water of all the states based on a century-old water rights priority system, agreed to give up 1.6 million acre-feet of water through 2026, with more than half coming from the Imperial Irrigation District. An acre-foot serves about two to three U.S. households per year.
Today, it lives in a few areas in California, Arizona and Mexico, including the Imperial Irrigation District’s drains, which funnel waterOften, the district's drains have more fresh water than the Salton Sea, so the fish seek out those spaces, said Ileene Anderson, senior scientist with the Center for Biological Diversity. The fish has proven remarkably resilient and can survive in water with low oxygen levels, high salinity and temperatures of more than 100 degrees Fahrenheit .
California’s Department of Fish and Wildlife declined to discuss the water conservation plan. The department said in an emailed statement that officials support water use reductions on the Colorado River and will work with other agencies to “find solutions that proactively minimize and mitigate any potential impacts to the great work underway.”
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