Coachella Valley Water District
The Coachella Valley Water District is an independent special district formed in 1918, specifically to protect and conserve local water sources in the Coachella Valley. Since then, the district has grown into a multi-faceted agency that delivers irrigation and domestic (drinking) water, collects and recycles wastewater, provides regional storm water protection, replenishes the groundwater basin and promotes water conservation. CVWD's service area covers approximately 1,000 square miles in Southern California from the San Gorgonio Pass to the Salton Sea, mostly within the Coachella Valley in Riverside County, California. The boundaries also extend into small portions of Imperial and San Diego counties. The Coachella Valley Water District relies on three sources of water to provide service to its customers: groundwater, recycled water and imported water either through the State Water Project or from the Colorado River via the Coachella Canal, a branch of the All-American Canal. History Farmers were attracted to the Coachella Valley's inexpensive land, year-around growing season and what was initially a plentiful supply of groundwater. They soon realized, however, that the aquifer's water supply was finite and CVWD was voted into existence by Coachella Valley residents and established by the state Legislature on January 9, 1918 with the primary responsibility to protect local water resources. One of the first actions taken by the district was to claim the rights to the Whitewater River (the valley's only source of natural replenishment) to ensure that natural inflows of water to the valley would stay in the valley and benefit the groundwater basin. To better manage the groundwater basin (the only source of water that was then being used for agricultural irrigation) and minimize groundwater pumping, the district looked for alternate sources of water to irrigate agriculturally productive land. Areas of services Domestic drinking water. All domestic water comes from the aquifer/groundwater basin beneath the valley floor ranging from Palm Springs to the Salton Sea and has an estimated capacity of 39.2 million acre feet (an acre foot = 325,851 gallons) down to as determined by the U. S. Geological Survey. Agricultural Irrigation. CVWD receives water from the Colorado River through the Coachella Branch of the All American Canal. Water in the canal flows entirely by gravity, dropping in elevation an average of one foot per mile. In the Coachella Valley, Colorado River water is used primarily for agricultural irrigation. There are of agricultural land irrigated with Colorado River water. The value of crops irrigated with this water exceeds of $730 million annually. However, some Colorado River water is used for golf course irrigation and groundwater replenishment. Groundwater Management/Replenishment. CVWD, (in cooperation with Desert Water Agency) operates three groundwater replenishment facilities throughout the valley. State Water Project (SWP) water is percolated at two facilities and Federal Colorado River water is percolated back into the ground at the third. The groundwater management program has been very successful in maintaining the overall health of the aquifer. Replenishment amounts vary from year-to-year depending upon the availability of SWP water. Wastewater Treatment and Reclamation. The