page_title: Imperial Valley
section_title: Agriculture
hierarchical_section_title: Imperial Valley / Economy / Agriculture
caption_attribution_description: The New River flows at 200 cf s as it enters Imperial County, Southern California (United States) from Baja California state (México). The water at this point is three colors: dark green, white (foam), and milky brown/green. The septic stench is pungent, particularly during the summer season when temperatures can reach up to 120º (48ºC). The contaminated soil along the riverbanks is black . A layer of foam frequently forms on the surface of the New River near the International Boundary. This foam is often blown by the wind to areas near the river, including parking lots and a shopping center. In particular, foam often blows into the parking lot of a grocery store located near the International Boundary. Fecal califorms and fecal streptococci have been consistently detected in the New River at the International Boundary. Their presence indicates that fecal contamination of the river has occurred.
context_page_description: The Imperial Valley lies in the California counties of Imperial and Riverside in southeastern Southern California with an urban area centered on the city of El Centro. The Valley is bordered by the Colorado River to the east and, in part, the Salton Sea to the west. Farther west lies the San Diego and Imperial County border. To the north is the Coachella Valley region of Riverside County, which together with Imperial Valley form the Salton Trough, or the Cahuilla Basin, also the county line of Imperial and Riverside counties, and to the south the international boundary with the U.S. state of California and Baja California.
  The culture of the area blends those of the United States and Mexico, due to its regional history and geographic location along the international border. The Imperial Valley economy is based on agriculture.
  Imperial Valley was so named by the Imperial Land Company, in hopes of attracting settlers. It is now the home of the El Centro metropolitan area and also an economic center of California's government defined "South Border". Locally, the terms "Imperial Valley" and "Imperial County" are used synonymously.
context_section_description: Although this region is in the Colorado Desert section of the Sonoran Desert, with high temperatures and low average rainfall of 3 inches (76 mm) per year, the economy is heavily based on agriculture due to irrigation, which is supplied wholly from the Colorado River via the All-American Canal. Thousands of acres of prime farmland have transformed the desert into one of the most productive farming regions in California with an annual crop production of over $1 billion. Agriculture is the largest industry in the Imperial Valley and accounts for 48% of all employment. An environmental cost is that, south of the canal, the Colorado River no longer flows above ground at all for much of the year into Mexico.
  A vast system of canals, check dams, and pipelines carry the water all over the valley, a system which forms the Imperial Irrigation District, or IID. The water distribution system includes over 1,400 miles (2,300 km) of canal and with 1,100 miles (1,800 km) of pipeline. The number of canal and pipeline branches number roughly over a hundred. Imported water and a long growing season allow two crop cycles each year, and the Imperial Valley is a major source of winter fruits and vegetables, cotton, and grain for U.S. and international markets. Alfalfa is another major crop produced in the Imperial Valley. The agricultural lands are served by a constructed agricultural drain system, which conveys surface runoff and subsurface drainage from fields to the Salton Sea, which is a designated repository for agricultural runoff, with environmental considerations not yet solved.
  All-American Canal
  All-American Canal Bridge
  Alamo Canal
  Coachella Canal
  Imperial Irrigation District
  Imperial Land Company
  California Development Company
caption: The New River
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