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WATER TRANSFERS
CURE
is an American non-profit that addresses public policy and
environmental justice implications of water transfers from
agricultural to
urban centers among its other land use and environment activities.
Due
to unchecked population growth and shortages on the Colorado
River,
cities in the western United States increasingly look to agricultural
areas
for relief. For the past five years, CURE has actively participated
in the public debate surrounding California's landmark proposed
transfer of water from the Imperial Valley to San Diego.
CURE is addressing the short- and long-term
implications of water
transfers on several levels including:
- Educating rural communities on both sides
of the US-Mexico border
about the environmental justice implications of water transfers,
through
development of a documentary on how water transfers directly
impact the
public (link to film clip)
- Purchasing or structuring land trusts for
the preservation of
endangered and threatened habitat
- Advocating public education, and litigation
challenging the construction of a new, concrete-lined All
American Canal, including work with the Environmental Protection
Agency, the Department of the Interior, and the International
Border Water Commission, based upon the lack of a comprehensive
study on the bi-national nature of these water and ecosystem
issues
- Supporting academic research into the
public policy impacts of water
transfers from a regional sustainability perspective, including
the
impacts on
-Human migration and immigration
-Wildlife and natural resources, including endangered
species such as
the Yuma clapper rail
-Andrade Mesa wetlands
-Air pollution levels
- Collaborating with other stakeholders in
the development of
sustainable, water transfer
policies.
- Promoting research into the long-term implications
of reduced
agriculture on America's food security
- Developing strategies to mitigate the loss
of agricultural land
through the adoption of land use policies promoting a balanced
evolution
from rural to suburban communities, including economic alternatives
for
migrant and low skilled workers to offset unemployment resulting
from
water transfers.
- Structuring land trusts and other legal mechanisms
to promote the
survivability of family farms and open space in rural America.
- Developing appropriate and long-term remedies
for the depletion of
the Salton Sea
CURE experience surrounding the historic
Imperial Valley to San Diego transfer provides
a vehicle for developing models that can be applied elsewhere
in the western United States as increasing pressure is placed
on rural, farming communities. |
