| Topic: |
Science > Prophecies-Of-Nostradamus |
| User: |
"Foaming at the Mouth Psychotic" |
| Date: |
22 Nov 2005 01:21:30 PM |
| Object: |
STATE WORKING WITH ARIZONA, MEXICO TO PROTECT WETLANDS MEXICAN FARMERS NEED |
order dispute involves Nevada
STATE WORKING WITH ARIZONA, MEXICO TO PROTECT WELANDS MEXICAN FARMERS
NEED
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Advertisement
PHOENIX - Arizona has joined a fight over a canal-repair project along
the California-Mexico border that has blown up into an international
legal dispute involving three states and Mexico.
Along with Nevada, Arizona will work to protect the canal project
against claims that it would damage sensitive wetlands and rob Mexican
farmers of water they need.
At the center of the battle is a 23-mile section of the All-American
Canal that moves water from the Colorado River across Southern
California for farmers in the Imperial Valley.
If the canal isn't lined and water continues to seep away, the federal
government may have to cover demands by drawing additional water from
Lake Mead, which stores water for Arizona, Nevada and California.
Arizona relies on the reservoir for one-third or more of its water
supply.
Congress approved a plan in 1988 to line that section of the canal with
concrete, reducing water lost to seepage.
But a San Diego lawyer representing Mexicali farmers and several
environmental groups that oppose the canal project, has sued to stop
the repair work.
The lawyer, Gaylord Smith, argues that lining the canal and halting the
seepage amounts to an illegal taking of a resource; Mexicali farmers
have relied on canal seepage for decades, dating to the old Alamo
Canal.
The legal battle is unfolding in U.S. District Court in Las Vegas.
The Central Arizona Water Conservation District, which operates the
336-mile Central Arizona Project Canal, has sided with the Southern
Nevada Water Authority in papers filed to intervene in the lawsuit.
Both agencies fear that if the canal isn't lined, their states could
suffer shortages should drought reduce the flow of the river.
The Arizona Department of Water Resources may also file motions in
support of the canal project.
While the amount of water at stake is a relatively small - about 67,000
acre-feet a year, or enough to serve about 400,000 people - officials
say its loss could upset delicate agreements between farmers and cities
in California, leaving Arizona and Nevada more vulnerable to shortages
in the future.
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