The History of the California Seven Party Agreement of 1931

In California, water is the most precious commodity. Because of this, the fights over water allocation have been bitter. The history of the California Seven Party Agreement of 1931 is important to understand when trying to contextualize today’s heated debates around water rights. 

The California Seven Party Agreement came into effect in September 1931 after being ratified the previous month. It was another addition to a group of laws, court rulings, contracts, and decrees that eventually evolved into today’s Law of the River.

Battles over water rights rage to this day and the California Seven Party Agreement is pivotal because it’s part of the framework that’s been consistently referred to for a century. The Colorado River watershed is so large that it is responsible for draining 12% of the 48 contiguous American states. The western United States, through which the river flows, is extremely arid, making proper allocation of river resources vital.

What is the history of the California Seven Party Agreement of 1931? We’ll dissect it now.

What is the California Seven Party Agreement of 1931?

The government made a final decision on how much of California’s allotted water would be distributed to different districts. That decision culminated in the California Seven Party Agreement of 1931. Before this agreement, individual water interests in California demanded individual contracts with out-of-state entities. This caused overlapping conflicts and overpromising of available water.

The California Seven Party Agreement of 1931 allowed the Division of Water Resources in California to divide its allotment of Colorado River water. The exact quantities each of the seven participating water distributors would get was established in this agreement.

The Colorado River Compact and the Boulder Canyon Project Act, along with smaller legislation, had already allotted a certain amount of water to California. People hotly debated water usage within the state and the California Seven Party Agreement of 1931 finally created a consensus. This allowed the federal government and other Lower Basin states to move forward with their large-scale projects.

Why is this Agreement Important?

The California Seven Party Agreement of 1931 is important because it ended years of conflict between southern California’s water districts. It also allowed the other states along the Colorado River to make a uniform deal with the state of California instead of dealing with individual districts.

The City and County of San Diego, the Palo Verde Irrigation District, the Yuma Project, the Metropolitan Water District, the Imperial Irrigation District, and the Coachella Valley Irrigation district agreed on how California’s water from the Colorado River should be allocated. The exact amounts to be distributed per year between these entities were written into Article I of the California Agreement of 1931.

The agreement also cemented certain aspects of the California canal system regarding internal water distribution. It solidified which canals transport the water and regulated certain dam operations. It also restricted the water available to the growing cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, which quelled a lot of fears among the seven states affected by this agreement.

Why is this Agreement Important to Other States?

The California Seven Party Agreement of 1931 was important to the six other states that use the Colorado River. California became much easier to interact with on large-scale water management ideas. It was also an important agreement for the federal government because it no longer had to make individual contracts with separate water departments.

It ended most feuds between agricultural and municipal interests in California. Other Lower Basin states had internal regulations for their allotment of Colorado River water. The California Seven Party Agreement allowed California to match this level of organization.

Timeline for the California Seven Party Agreement of 1931

This is the history of the California Seven Party Agreement in chronological order:

• November 24, 1922: Signing of the Colorado River Compact
• December 21, 1928: Approval of the Boulder Canyon Project Act
• June 25, 1929: The Boulder Canyon Project Act and the Colorado River Compact went into effect.
• August 14, 1929: The Limitation Act went into effect.
• April 24, 1930: An agreement between the Metropolitan Water District and the Federal government was made. This was later amended by the California Seven Party Agreement of 1931 in Article 1.
• July 7, 1930: The Secretary of the Interior announced that the construction of the Hoover Dam was starting.
• November 5, 1930: The Secretary of the Interior requested a Seven Party Agreement from the Division of Water Resources in California.
• August 18, 1931: The California Seven Party Agreement was ratified.
• September 28, 1931: The California Seven Party Agreement went into effect.

Do Earthquakes Affect California’s Water Supply?

Large earthquakes are capable of catastrophically damaging California’s water supply and internal water delivery systems. A large enough earthquake could affect all of the states along the Colorado River.

On July 4 and July 5, 2019, Trona experienced large earthquakes. They were big enough to disrupt water service to some areas for six days and water was unpotable for another eight days. “The Big One” that may happen soon will be thousands of times larger and will cause much more damage.

The Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta in northern California is responsible for providing a third of the water needed for the state of California. Southern California is dependent on the water that flows through the California Aqueduct, which originates in this system.

Some of the levees in the Sacramento-San Joaquin area are over 100 years old and will not survive a major earthquake. Water from San Francisco Bay will travel into the system and contaminate the entire water supply. If this happens, California will be in crisis.

This is just one catastrophe that is poised to happen if the right earthquake strikes. California is earthquake country and all residents should keep at least a three-day supply of water in their earthquake preparedness kit.

The photo featured at the top of this post is © Beth Ruggiero-York/Shutterstock.com