The Imperial Irrigation District (IID) Board of Directors has approved the continuation of the District’s Deficit Irrigation (DIP) program during its January 20 meeting, advancing the program for 2026, reinforcing ongoing efforts to protect Lake Mead and the Colorado River system.
Press release from the Imperial Irrigation District
The Imperial Irrigation District (IID) Board of Directors has approved the continuation of the District’s Deficit Irrigation (DIP) program during its January 20 meeting, advancing the program for 2026, reinforcing ongoing efforts to protect Lake Mead and the Colorado River system.
Now in its third year, IID’s DIP program continues to yield reliable, measurable conservation when participating growers voluntarily refrain from irrigating select crops on a temporary basis, allowing the water to remain in Lake Mead, the nation’s largest reservoir.
“IID and its growers are champions when it comes to conserving water and helping the river, and we’re happy to work with them to continue this successful program this year,” said IID General Manager Jamie Asbury. “We are grateful for our collective efforts and look forward to continuing successful conservation goals.”
The DIP program saw participation from more than 159 growers across over 150,500 acres in 2025. Through this effort, participants conserved a total of 222,384 acre-feet of water. The program contributed to the District’s highest-ever annual water conservation yield, totaling approximately 700,000 acre-feet last year.
By the end of 2026, IID anticipates having contributed more than 800,000 acre-feet of water to Lake Mead alone (over a four-year period) through its DIP and On-Farm Efficiency Conservation programs, raising the elevation of the nation’s largest reservoir by up to 12 feet.
Growers enrolled in the DIP program voluntarily refrain from irrigating established Alfalfa, Bermuda grass, and Klein grass crops for 45 or 60 days. Participants are compensated for water conservation yields. In support of the Imperial County Farm Bureau’s recommendation, the 2026 DIP program will prorate farm unit participation, helping ensure eligibility for smaller farm units.
Though a smaller program in 2026, due to cumulative federal funding caps, the DIP conservation measure is approved and funded by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation’s Lower Colorado River Basin System Conservation and Efficiency Program’s System Conservation Implementation Agreement (SCIA) to create near-term water saving on the Colorado River and address drought impacts, supplementing long-term solutions.
