Since 1942, water has been diverted at Imperial Dam on the Colorado River through the 82-mile All-American Canal, all of which the IID operates and maintains, although the structures are owned by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.
Imperial Dam, located about 20 miles north of Yuma, contains four desilting basins which help remove silt and sediment from the river water so it can be delivered by gravity flow.
IID's Energy Department provides electric power to more than 145,000 customers in the Imperial Valley and parts of Riverside and San Diego counties.
Because the declining Salton Sea poses a serious public health crisis to the residents living in the Imperial and Coachella Valleys (as dried shoreline soil and sediments, saturated with agricultural chemicals, will be spread by dust emissions from strong winds), IID has petitioned California State Water Resources Control Board asking that this governing board initiate negotiations between the QSA parties and the state to develop a plan to restore the sea, meeting the state's obligation.
Pacific Institute, an Oakland-based environmental think tank, had issued a report stating that the lack of replenishment water to the sea was leading to a "period of very rapid deterioration."
[3] On Sept. 8, 2011, an estimated 5 million people suffered a temporary loss of electricity from Arizona to San Diego and into parts of Mexico.
[citation needed] IID is led by an elected five-member board of directors who represent divisions in the water service area.