(Oral arguments begin Friday)….They are in the Appeal filed by the IID.
The District filed the appeal in the Abatti vs. Imperial Irrigation District case. The Fourth Appellate Court of Appeals in San Diego will hear the arguments. The Oral Arguments begin at 9:00 am and can be live streamed on the Court’s website. IID Board President Norma Sierra Galindo says the outcome of this case will shape the future of the Imperial Valley’s water rights. In September 2017 the IID filed its appeal of the August 2017 decision by an Imperial County Superior Court Judge. That decision ruled against the District, invalidating IID’s method of apportioning water, known as the Equitable Distribution Plan, based on the conclusion that agriculture landowners owned the water rights held by the District. They say the judgment contained several findings, conclusions and rulings of great concern to the District, including a fundamental misunderstanding of the nature of the water rights held by the IID and other legal errors that could jeopardize the Imperial Valley’s historic water rights and restrict the District’s ability to provide reliable water supplies to all of its customers in the future.
