In 1942, the All-American Canal became the sole water source for Imperial Valley residents and area farmlands. The All-American Canal was constructed by the Bureau during the 1930s and, in 1940, the first water was delivered to the Imperial Valley. The early pioneers' efforts paid off and, in 1928, the Boulder Canyon Project Act authorized the construction of the All-American Canal, Hoover Dam and Imperial Dam. Congressman), successfully negotiated an agreement between the United States Bureau of Reclamation and the IID to investigate the Imperial Valley's need for an all-American canal. In 1917, IID's chief counsel, Phil Swing (who later became a U.S. C., seeking funding for a canal on his land in Imperial Valley's East Mesa. In 1912, Mark Rose, a pioneer farmer, went to Washington, D. The concept of an all-American canal was not new. Because its main canal and levees were located in Mexico, giving Imperial Valley little security in its water supply or against flooding, the IID realized the need for an "All-American Canal" north of the international border. IID was formed in 1911 under a state charter and acquired certain rights of the California Development Company and its Mexican subsidiary. The Alamo Canal's diversion point was a short distance north of the Mexican border near Pilot Knob and most of its length ran through Mexico before it re-crossed the border into the Imperial Valley. However, it was not until 1901 that the California Development Company contracted to build a canal (the Alamo Canal) to deliver water by gravity flow from the river to the southern end of the valley. The quest to bring water from the Colorado River to irrigate land in Imperial Valley began in the 1850s. Survival and development in the Imperial Valley has always been dependent on the availablity of water.
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In 2009, the district completed lining project that resulted in the concrete lining of 23 miles of the All-American Canal. Dropping a total of 175 feet between Imperial Dam and the Westside Main Canal, the All-American Canal extends south and then west, following the Mexican/American border much of the way.Ĭrossing 14 miles of sand dunes on the east side of the Imperial Valley, the All-American Canal ends in the southwest corner of IID's delivery area.
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Approximately 3.1 million acre-feet of Colorado River water, less water transfer obligations, is delivered annually through the All-American Canal to nine cities and 500,000 acres of agricultural lands throughout the Imperial Valley.Ĭonsidered an engineering marvel, even by today's standards, the 80-mile gravity-flow All-American Canal begins at Imperial Dam on the Colorado River about 20 miles northeast of Yuma, Arizona. The All-American Canal is the Imperial Valley's lifeline from the Colorado River.