Court backs canal expansion in U.S-Mexico dispute - Reuters

[Eugene]

Source: Reuters

Court backs canal expansion in U.S-Mexico dispute

5:57 p.m. April 6, 2007

SAN FRANCISCO – A U.S. federal court gave the green light Friday to a project
fortifying one of the world's largest irrigation canals near the U.S.-Mexico
border that has caused diplomatic tensions and a legal fight.

Since 1942, the All-American Canal has carried water from the Colorado River
82 miles west into California's Imperial Valley. Seepage from the canal also
creates underground aquifers that provide ground water to farmers in Mexico's
Mexicali Valley.

The U.S.-based Imperial Irrigation District water utility plan a two-year, $200
million overhaul of the canal by laying concrete to stop seepage. It hopes to
save U.S. residents 22 billion gallons of water a year.

In 2005, a Mexican community group and two U.S. environmental groups sued to
halt the concrete lining plan, presenting a complex array of objections including
claims of violations of U.S. laws such as the Endangered Species Act.

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Read more: http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/mexico/20070406-1757-usa-mexico-canal.html

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Related: Court rules Imperial Valley canal to be lined - Los Angeles Times