The Imperial Irrigation District approved a landmark conservation agreement Monday.

The Board's approval came at a Special meeting on Monday evening. The System Conservation Implementation Agreement (SCIA) with the U. S. Bureau of Reclamation will provide funding for the implementation programs from 2024 - 2026 to conserve up to 300,000 acre-feet per year of water. The water will remain in Lake Mead to aid the drought-stricken Colorado River. The programs authorize expanding IID's existing On-Farm Efficiency Conservation Program (OFECP) as well as a new Deficit Irrigation Program (DIP). The OFECP will incentivize agricultural water users to implement field-level conservation measures. The DIP would fund short-term idling of established alfalfa, Bermuda grass and Klein grass crops. According to the IID, these programs will unlock nearly $250 million in federal funding for Salton Sea restoration efforts. The SCIA is expected to fund the development of sufficient volumes of conserved water over the next three years that, when combined with IID's exiting conservation and transfer programs will add up to 750,000 acres-feet of conservation each year.