Third lawsuit against All-American canal lining project is dismissed
Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on July 17, 2007 at 12:32 pmFrom the Imperial Valley Press Online:
As work has begun on building a cement-lined All-American Canal, the courts have issued a third defeat to a group opposed to the project. The ruling has left the group called Protect Our Water and Environmental Rights wondering where its case can be heard as both the state and federal courts have now said they have no jurisdiction over the matter. “I guess you can’t get it heard,” said local farmer Jim Abatti, brother of IID Director Mike Abatti, and a member of POWER.
This lawsuit focused on safety issues in the construction of the canal. Previous lawsuits have focused on the environmental issues south of the border, but were also dismissed. Seepage from the unlined canal has been feeding an aquifer which serves one of the most productive agricultural regions in Mexico. The raised water table has benefited wildlife habitats as well.
Victor Hermosillo, former mayor of Mexicali, laid out the Mexican point of view in this opinion article from June of 2006, which appeared in the San Diego Union-Tribune:
For over 100 years, both U.S. and Mexican business interests have been pumping groundwater from the All-American Canal (as well as its predecessor, the Alamo Canal). This water supply is the lifeline of the Mexicali Valley, widely considered to be one of the most diverse agricultural and industrial economies in Mexico.
Encasing a new canal in concrete would divert more water for San Diego’s emerging suburbs and golf courses, but it would do so with devastating impacts. By drying up the groundwater, the concrete canal would deprive many thousands of Mexicans of their livelihood, forcing them to migrate north. One expert predicts more than 30,000 Mexican jobs could be lost if the canal is built. And the economic impacts are not limited to Mexico: The city of Calexico would also suffer because it depends almost entirely on the Mexicali economy. This is why Calexico is also a party in litigation to stop the project [Note: the lawsuit he refers to has already been dismissed].
Nor are the impacts limited to the regional economy. A concrete canal also threatens sensitive habitat, wetlands and endangered species not discussed in the “final” environmental impact study completed more than 12 years ago.
Every time this issue has been heard in court, the courts have upheld the US water rights to the seepage, regardless of the effects of the project on the Mexican side of the border. The canal lining project is part of California’s plan to reduce it’s usage of Colorado River water and live within it’s 4.4 million acre-feet allotment.
“We are moving forward,” Menvielle said. “The canal is being built. There is nothing that is going to be able to stop this project.” The canal lining project, set to cost more than $200 million and to be paid by the state and the San Diego County Water Authority, has been a key project in the eyes of IID officials to conserve water. More than 67,000 acre-feet of water per year seeps through the earthen canal into Mexicali, IID officials say. The amount of seepage alone is enough to serve thousands of homes per year.
Saving that water is critical, IID officials have said, in a time when the district is having to survive on less water and is under contractual mandate to transfer water to other agencies in the state.
To read the full text of the Imperial Valley Press Online article, click here.
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