A 19-year drought has created a crisis for states along the Colorado River.
Nearly all the lettuce in this country is grown with water from the Colorado River, which means a 19-year drought along the river has far-reaching implications.
SOMMER: States like California and Arizona have been negotiating a deal to share water, to cut back so reservoirs don’t hit critical lows.
SOMMER: But getting everyone to share water – that’s the tricky part because of an invisible pecking order, the water rights system.
SOMMER: One farming community in California, the Imperial Valley, has some of the oldest water rights.
SOMMER: Bruce Kuhn is on the board of directors of the Imperial Irrigation District.
He voted to sell some of Imperial’s water to San Diego as part of that deal.
SOMMER: Kuhn’s customers were farmers who were not happy.
Now Kuhn is back on the board with another water-sharing vote in front of him.
If that doesn’t happen by the end of January, the federal government says it will step in to decide the future of the Colorado River.