Wilson Calls for Talks in Water War

In an effort to break the impasse between San Diego County and the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, Gov. Pete Wilson has summoned officials from the two warring water agencies to a negotiating session in his office, officials said Friday.

Wilson wants the groups to reach an agreement allowing San Diego County to use the MWD’s Colorado Aqueduct to bring Colorado River water belonging to the Imperial Valley to San Diego--an arrangement that some officials see as a key component in ensuring California’s water future.

In December, the San Diego County Water Authority and the Imperial Water District struck a tentative deal to bring up to 300,000 acre-feet a year from the Colorado River to San Diego--an agreement applauded by officials of the Wilson administration and by Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt. The amount of water would be enough for 2.4 million people for a year.

But negotiations between San Diego County and the MWD have failed to produce an agreement on the price San Diego will pay for use of the MWD’s 242-mile aqueduct, how water will be stored in years when the aqueduct is full, and how the transfer proposal fits into the MWD’s long-range plans for providing water to 16 million residents in six counties including San Diego.

“We’re kind of treading water,” Jack Maloy, the MWD’s chief of communications, said of the negotiating process. “We’re pretty close, but there are still sticking points.”

Christine Frahm, board chairwoman of the San Diego County authority, said she is disappointed that the negotiations have not been successful. She suggested that the MWD does not really want to consummate a deal.

“Last December, I didn’t think we’d still be here in April trying to work it out,” Frahm said. “We’re proceeding from the point of view that this agreement has to happen and we need to grind out the details.”

David Kennedy, director of the state Department of Water Resources, has attempted a kind of shuttle diplomacy between the two battling agencies, whose relationship in recent years has been marked by suspicion, misunderstanding and recriminations.

Kennedy said recently that he is hopeful a settlement can be reached but declined to say if he is optimistic. “I try to stay away from emotional words like ‘optimistic,’ ” he said. “There are still some serious issues we’re working out.”

The meeting in Wilson’s office, to be held within the next two weeks, will include Kennedy, officials from the San Diego agency and the MWD, and the governor’s chief of staff, George Dunn.

Officials in San Diego say they want to buy some of the Imperial Valley’s share of the Colorado River so they will no longer be a “captive” customer of the MWD. For decades arid San Diego has wanted to establish “water independence” and find a secondary source that cannot be reduced during drought.

MWD officials have said San Diego County is pursuing a me-first policy that could shift costs of maintaining the expansive MWD system to other Southern California communities--making them subsidize San Diego’s drive for water.

Wilson, a former San Diego mayor, has generally leaned toward San Diego County’s position but stopped short of getting involved in the myriad details. Several legislators, annoyed at the MWD, have threatened to introduce legislation forcing an agreement if none is reached voluntarily.

Babbitt has said California can no longer expect to take more Colorado River water each year and has encouraged deals whereby agricultural agencies--which use the lion’s share of the water--sell some of their portion to thirsty coastal communities. The MWD now receives a small part of the water from the Colorado.

In his annual speech to officials of the seven states that depend on the Colorado River, Babbitt took direct aim at the Imperial Irrigation District, which annually receives about 3.3 million acre-feet. If put to urban use, that amount of water would accommodate virtually all of Southern California.