Imperial Irrigation District
| District overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 1911 |
| Preceding District | |
| Type | Irrigation district |
| Headquarters | Imperial, California |
| Website | www |
The Imperial Irrigation District (IID) is irrigation district that serves the Imperial Valley in Southern California. Established under the State Water Code, the IID supplies roughly 500,000 acres of Imperial Valley farmland with raw Colorado River water to support irrigation. In addition to providing irrigation, IID also supplies electrical energy to the valley.
IID was formed in 1911 under the California Irrigation District Act to acquire the properties of the bankrupt California Development Company and its Mexican subsidiary. The IID was formed as a public agency, acquiring 13 mutual water companies in the valley which had developed and operated water distribution canals. The district is headquartered in Imperial, California.
Prior to 1942, irrigation water delivered to the Imperial Valley was diverted from the Colorado River near Pilot Knob through Mexico to bypass the Imperial sand dunes west of Yuma and into the IID-operated Alamo Canal (also known as the Imperial Canal). Since 1942, water has been diverted at Imperial Dam on the Colorado River through the 82-mile All-American Canal, all of which the IID operates and maintains, although the structures are owned by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.
Water from Imperial Dam serves the Yuma, Ariz. region as well as the Imperial Valley. The All-American Canal also delivers water from the dam to the Coachella turnout—a section east of Yuma that diverts water to the Coachella Valley Water District. Imperial Dam, located about 20 miles north of Yuma, contains four desilting basins which help remove silt and sediment from the river water so it can be delivered by gravity flow. The IID also remotely operates the Brock Reservoir, between El Centro and Yuma, by operating the inlet and outlet gates and regulating the amount of water diverted into the reservoir and returned to the main system.
In 2009, IID completed the 23-mile concrete lining project of the All-American Canal to recover about 66,700 acre-feet of water per year for use by the San Diego County Water Authority.
...
Wikipedia