The Department of the Interior has asked all agencies that take water from the Colorado River to consider how much water they would be willing to give up to help their neighbors if the Western drought persists. Last week, the Imperial irrigation board voted unanimously to provide its answer: not a drop.
"The more we give, the more they want," board member Stella Mendoza said. "The [Interior] secretary says we have peace on the river -- well, not in Imperial Valley."
The sticking point remains fallowing. The agreement calls for it for 15 years.
Even with the Sacramento and Las Vegas litigation, and the unhappiness on the Imperial irrigation board over the deal, outside water watchers say the current conflict pales in comparison with the decades that preceded it.
One water official likened past litigation and conflict between water agencies, and between California and other Western states, to armies blasting away at each other with artillery.
"At least now we're down to pistols and knives," he said.
