REIMAGINING LOWER COLORADO AGRICULTURE. Context & Solutions for the Restoration of Colorado River Ecosystems

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1 REIMAGINING LOWER COLORADO Context & Solutions for the Restoration of Colorado River Ecosystems James Powell LA602 Landscape Design : Natural Processes Winter 2012 Prof. Jessica Hall

2 PROJECT OVERVIEW GOAL Improve ecological and human health through revised agricultural practices in the Lower Colorado River watershed. OBJECTIVES Restore water to the Colorado River Delta. Reduce toxicity in the Salton Sea. Identify alternatives to current crops and agricultural land use. Encourage a market for healthier and more geographically-appropriate California foods.

3 STUDY AREAS California / Mohave Lakes Lake Havasu Parker Dam San Gorgonio River Whitewater River Colorado River Aqueduct Coachella Valley Colorado River Palo Verde Valley Arizona Salton Sea Coachella Canal Alamo River Imperial Valley New River Imperial Dam Laguna Dam Legend Farmland Remediation Sites Dams Baja California All American Canal Mexicali Valley Lower Colorado Morelos Dam Sonora Colorado River Delta Lower Gila Yuma and Gila Streams Aqueducts N Miles

4 PROJECT OVERVIEW! Lake Havasu Danby Lake - Parker Dam Colorado River Aqueduct Palm Springs!! Coachella Valley Indio California + Salton Sea New River!! Niland! Alamo River El Centro Calexico Imperial Valley All American Canal Colorado River! Palo Verde Valley -Blythe Imperial Reservoir -Ferguson Lake Yuma! Yuma and Gila Imperial Reservoir Imperial Dam Laguna Dam Arizona Baja California Mexican Agriculture Lower Colorado! San Luis + Colorado River Delta + + Sonora

5 REGIONAL FLOWS 1.1 MAF Parker Dam San Gorgonio River Whitewater River Colorado River Aqueduct Colorado River Coachella Valley California Palo Verde Valley Salton Sea Intermittent Inflow Waste & Runoff Coachella Canal Arizona New River Imperial Valley Alamo River 3.8 MAF Imperial Dam Laguna Dam All American Canal Morelos Dam Lower Gila Legend Farmland Baja California Mexicali Valley Lower Colorado 1.5 MAF Yuma and Gila Sonora Remediation Sites Dams Streams Aqueducts N Colorado River Delta 0 AF Miles

6 WATER USAGE Lower Colorado Water Use by State Lower Colorado Water Use by Type California Cities MAF: 10% California Agriculture 3 MAF: 33% Mexico 1.5 MAF: 16% Nevada Agriculture 0.75 MAF: 8% Nevada Cities 0.31 MAF: 3% Arizona Agriculture MAF: 12% Municipal/ Industrial MAF 37% Agriculture MAF 63% Arizona Cities MAF: 18%

7 DIVERSIONS Top 10 Lower Colorado Diversions (Total Million Acre-Feet/Year) 4,000,000 3,000,000 2,000,000 1,000,000 0 Imperial & Coachella Valley 300, , , , , , ,800 1,100,000 2,980,000 3,850,000 Southern Nevada Water Authority Colorado River Indian Reservation Yuma County Water Users Association Fort Yuma Indian Reservation Wellton-Mohawk Irrigation and Drainage Colorado River Indian Reservation MWD and/or Los Angeles Area Palo Verde/Imperial Valley/Yuma Central AZ Water Conservation District

8 IMPERIAL COUNTY Coachella Valley A Salton Sea Coachella Canal Imperial County Palo Verde Valley 3% 4% Land Area New River Baja California N Imperial Valley Alamo River All American Canal Mexicali Valley Miles Lower Colorado Morelos Dam Imperial Dam Laguna Dam Sonora Colorado River Delta Lower Gila Yuma an 93% Imperial Valley Palo Verde Valley Yuma

9 IMPERIAL COUNTY Land and Value of Farms $6,000, $5,000, $4,000, $3,000, $2,000, $1,000, $0 All-American Canal (1942)

10 SUBSIDIES $20,000,000,000 Domestic Subsidies $1,000,000,000 Export Subsidies $240,242,000 To California Farms

11 SUBSIDY DISTRIBUTION Rice 14% Soy 8% Everything Else 10% Feed grains, mostly corn 35% Wheat 15% Cotton 18%

12 CALIFORNIA SUBSIDIES Farms with sales of $100K-250K Farms with sales of $1-5 million Farms with sales of more than $5 million Total subsidies $19,990,000 $21,064 Avg/Farm Total subsidies $98,646,000 $59,821 Avg/Farm Total subsidies $36,607,000 $84,542 Avg/Farm Average net income of CA farms: $98,518

13 IMPERIAL COUNTY 457 Farms in Imperial County, 45% have over $500K in sales Total subsidies $4,885,000 $37,006 Avg/Farm Average net income of Imperial County farms: $431,044

14 VIRTUAL WATER EXPORTS STATEWIDE RICE 1.1 MAF/YR HAY 0.5 MAF/YR #2 PRODUCER OF HAY IN CA

15 IMPERIAL WATER EXPORTS Acres of Forage Crops Exported AF as Forage Imperial County 229,569 Imperial County 60,248 Exported Tons of Forage California 1,723,147 Imperial County 89,547 California 452,219 California 600,000

16 SPECIALTY CROPS CALIFORNIA SPECIALTY CROP BLOCK GRANTS $50,000 - $400,000 PER PROJECT Andy Ciordia 2006 Victor Radziun 2006 flickr user graibeard 2010

17 IMPERIAL COUNTY WATER PRICES CA AVERAGE: $1303/AF IMPERIAL VALLEY: $20/AF FARM STATISTICS 452 FARMS AVG. SIZE 945 ACRES AVG. VALUE $5 MILLION 427,349 ACRES FARMLAND 376,535 ACRES IRRIGATED HARVESTED ACRES PER CROP Lettuce 28,751 Wheat for Grain 41,085 Field and Grass Seed Crops 54,293 Vegetables (Excl. Lettuce) 54,735 Hay 229,569

18 IRRIGATION DEMAND ESTIMATING IRRIGATION NEEDS PER CROP TYPE ESTIMATED IRRIGATION USAGE BY CROP (AF/YR) Wheat for grain 104,082 Lettuce 68,194 Crop Evapotranspiration Ft/yr Field & grass seed crops 219,788 Vegetables 124,442 Hay 1,082,827 Vegetables Lettuce Wheat for grain Field & grass seed crops Hay

19 LOWER COLORADO PROPOSED PRODUCTION $607 MILLION PROPOSED CROP ALLOTMENT 427,349 ACRES CONTEXT POLICY $1,149 $79 191,726 Vegetables 57% $269 $338 Vegetables Hay 20% INTRO $620 MILLION ADDITIONAL SALES $1.23 BILLION PRODUCTION 652, ,171 1,321,378 Vegetables Hay Hay Other 23% 1.5 MAF TOTAL 1,321, ,349 ACRES 191,726 Hay 57% 652, ,171 Vegetables 20% $1,149 $79 $338 Other 23% $269 CROPS GROWN IN IMPERIAL COUNTY, MAF TOTAL LONG-TERM STRATEGIES Vegetables Hay 475,000 AF SAVINGS CONCLUSIONS

20 WATER NEEDS OF FOODS AVERAGE WATER PER PERSON FOR ONE DAY S MEALS: GALLONS Vegetables Starchy Roots Cereals Eggs Legumes Milk Nuts Chicken Pork Beef

21 DIET ADJUSTMENT

22 CROP COMMUNITIES IRRIGATED AREAS AND NEAR STREAMS DRY AREAS DISTANT FROM WATER SALTY SOILS, REMEDIATION AREAS AMARANTH (Amarantus cruentus) MAIZE (Zea mays) HONEY MESQUITE (Prosopis glandulosa) PRICKLY PEAR (Opuntia spp.) SUNFLOWER (Helianthus annuus) SQUASH (Cucurbita spp.) PRICKLY PEAR (Opuntia spp.) PICKLEWEED (Salicornia subterminalis) TOMATOES (Solanum lycopersicum) BEANS (Phaseolus spp.) JOJOBA (Simmondsia chinensis) SEA PURSLANE (Sesuvium verricosum)

23 FARM WITH THE RIVER Fallow Lettuce Alfalfa Mesquite Amaranth/Corn Opuntia

24 FARM WITH THE RIVER Fallow Lettuce Alfalfa Mesquite Amaranth/Corn Opuntia

25 ANNUAL FLOOD LEACH SALTS, REPLENISH GROUNDWATER, FEED SALTON SEA AND DELTA

26 ALFALFA ALTERNATIVES AS FEED & FOOD IN CROP ROTATION International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center 2007 flickr user Net_efekt 2010 Paul Asaman 2008 Heather Dunhill 2011

27 CONCLUSIONS $ Reprioritize subsidies to promote human health and water conservation over quantity and market domination. Emphasize high-nutrition, low-water specialty crops. Adapt heirloom crops and traditional growing methods to larger scales. Direct conserved water to delta and Salton Sea for ecological remediation.