Relay race: How ‘zanjeros’ get Colorado River water to California farms

Beginning his workday at 6 a.m. in southeastern California’s Imperial Valley, Jeff Dollente delivers Colorado River water to farms that feed the rest of the United States. He’s a “zanjero,” Spanish for ditch rider.

Strained by overuse and the effects of climate change, the river is facing critical lows, which are unlikely to reverse due to recent heavy rain and snow, experts say. 

“That’s what we’re here for – trying to save the water,” Mr. Dollente says. 

It’s a high-stakes relay race. From the Imperial Dam, water flows into the major All-American Canal, which feeds into three main canals, and then is directed into a series of lateral canals. Zanjeros usher that water to delivery gates at the edge of farm fields, according to how much has been ordered. At one stop, Mr. Dollente raises another type of gate a mere inch higher to adjust the flow.

“They’re the face of the district to the farmer,” says Ralph Strahm, co-owner of Strahm Farms Inc. in Holtville. “They’re the ones that save the system from breaching if there’s a problem.”

Work is often solitary for the zanjero, but Mr. Dollente is never quite alone. Coyotes pass by, roosters crow. And water sounds like gossip when it rushes through a ditch.

In the right light, Jeff Dollente seems to make the sun rise. Standing over a canal, he cranks a wheel as the sun ascends and the sky yawns off the dark. 

Mr. Dollente doesn’t deliver the morning, but in southeastern California’s Imperial Valley, his job is just as big. He delivers Colorado River water – a vital resource at risk – to farms that feed the rest of the United States.

He’s a “zanjero,” Spanish for ditch rider, for the Imperial Irrigation District, the area’s public-water and energy agency. California is entitled to the largest share of Colorado River water among seven basin states, and within that, the agency has the single largest entitlement, almost all of which goes to agriculture. Upping the ante: The river is the Imperial Irrigation District’s only water source. 

The crisis on the Colorado River, strained by overuse and the effects of climate change, is unlikely to reverse due to recent heavy rain and snow, experts say. While critical lows along the river threaten water supplies and hydropower, California hasn’t agreed with other states this year on who should conserve how much – though the Imperial Valley is a controversial target of calls for cuts.

As the federal government prepares to weigh in and high-level talks continue, so do zanjero daily duties on the ground. It takes focus and precision to safeguard each drop of liquid gold.