The Imperial Valley depends solely on the Colorado River for surface water supply. IID imports raw water from the Colorado River and distributes it primarily for agricultural use. IID distributes water for non-agricultural uses to seven municipalities, two special districts, and one state and one federal institution for treatment to potable standards; to industrial (renewable energy) users; feedlot, dairy and fishery users, and environmental resources demand and recreational uses. Rainfall is less than three inches per year and does not contribute to IID water delivery, although at times it does increase or reduce agricultural water demand. Groundwater in the Imperial Valley is of poor quality and is generally unsuitable for domestic or irrigation purposes. In addition, to avoid agricultural root zone contamination, tile drains are used to dewater the root zone. The tile drain and other drainage waters ultimately discharge to the Salton Sea.
For informational purposes, the following operational flow data for Station 2900 and IID's three main canals is updated after 2 p.m. daily.
PREDICTED FLOWS IN CFS* FOR March 19 2018
|Daily Flow||Maximum Capacity||Capacity Percentage|
|East Highline Canal||1820cfs||2,600||70%|
|Central Main Canal||810cfs||1,200||
|Westside Main Canal||
*cubic-feet per second