GrokSurf's San Diego

Local observations on water, environment, technology, law & politics

Quantification Settlement Agreement (QSA)

Among the features of the 2003 Quantification Settlement Agreement (QSA) affecting San Diego is the transfer of water, starting in 2003 with 10,000 acre-feet, ramping up to 200,000 acre-feet per year from the Imperial Irrigation District to the San Diego County Water Authority for up to 75 years; and lining of the All-American and Coachella canals, with the 77,700 acre-feet of water saved from previous seepage annually going to the Water Authority for 110 years.

Here is the US Bureau of Reclamation page with the Colorado River Water Delivery Agreement Documents, Oct 2003.

A number of lawsuits against the QSA have been filed which threaten continuation of the water transfers: there is a federal suit in the U.S. District Court filed by the Imperial County Air Pollution Control District and Imperial County; and a now-consolidated state lawsuit in the California Superior Court for suits filed by a number of parties.

On Feb 11, 2010, a Superior Court judge signed a ruling invalidating 12 of the 35 contracts comprising the QSA. An appeal was filed and a temporary stay immediately granted was later made permanent pending outcome of the appeal. Listed below are reports on the issue as I find them in addition to my own posts.

Here is the Superior Court legal record; the Appeals Court cases, the Master Service List for the QSA cases, and my original Nov 10, 2009 post which contains some background and links on the subject.

The separate Federal lawsuit was filed Oct. 8, 2009. Here is the complaint, the order for an Early Neutral Evaluation conference May 14, 2010, and the order for the Case Management Conference October 8, 2010. The federal case was decided on April 6, 2012.

For the latest documents and tentative rulings from the Superior Court case, click this link and a search page will come up with case number JCCP 4353 already entered. Then just click “search.”

News reports: