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EPA Loans Coachella Valley Water District $59 Million for Stormwater Control

/in , /by /Desert Sun.by Mark Olalde

The Coachella Valley Water District and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Friday signed an agreement for a $59.1 million loan to finance improvements to the district’s 134-mile stormwater system that drains into the Salton Sea. CVWD has 35 years to pay back the money, made available through the federal Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act, which began doling out low-interest loans in 2017. The funding will help pay for two projects in the valley — one to increase the canal’s capacity between Coachella and Thermal and another that will build 3.3 miles of channel near Shadow Hills.

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District Helps Make Desert Bloom

/in , , /by /Capital Pressby Julia Hollister

The Coachella Valley Water District faces hefty challenges each day: providing water for more than 1,200 ag customers on 65,000 acres in a desert environment.

The water district serves San Diego, Imperial and Riverside counties and nine cities.

“I would say managing our water on a long-term basis, optimizing our Colorado River water and groundwater and using them as efficiently as possible are major priorities for us,” said Katie Evans, director of communications for the district.

The Coachella Valley’s farmland is one of the largest contributors to the local economy, known for its dates, citrus fruit, grapes and bell peppers. More than two-thirds of local farmland is irrigated in part with Colorado River water delivered via the Coachella Canal.

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Calif. Tribe Sues Water Districts Over Groundwater Charge

/in , /by /Law 360 by Kelly Zegers

Two California water agencies should not be allowed to charge a tribe for groundwater production, the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians said in a new lawsuit Friday.

The tribe claims that the Coachella Valley Water District and the Desert Water Agency unlawfully imposed a “replenishment assessment charge” against federal laws that reserve the groundwater for the tribe, according to a filing in California federal court.

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CVWD Approves Taking On Debt For First Time For $40 Million Oasis Farm Pipeline

/in , , /by /Desert Sun (Palm Springs, Calif.)by Janet Wilson

The Coachella Valley Water District on Monday approved taking on outside financing for what is believed to be the first time in its 101-year history for a $40 million pipeline to bring more Colorado River water to the region’s farmers, freeing up valuable groundwater for other uses.

A majority of the board voted Monday at a special meeting to give staff the go-ahead to pursue short-term, low-interest “bridge” financing for the Oasis pipeline project, by drawing on a $75 million line of credit CVWD obtained with Bank of the West on July 1.

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Bruce Wilcox honored by members of the Salton Sea Authority

Salton Sea Authority Honors Bruce Wilcox for Years of Service

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The Salton Sea Authority honored out-going Assistant Secretary of Salton Sea Policy Bruce Wilcox during the Authority’s October 24 board meeting. Wilcox was at the meeting when the Authority’s Board of Directors unanimously passed a resolution recognizing his efforts to improve the Salton Sea.

He was appointed to serve as assistant secretary within the California Natural Resources Agency in 2015 and assigned to work on Salton Sea restoration efforts. His appointment followed the formation of the Salton Sea Task Force.

Under his leadership, Wilcox helped guide the Salton Sea Management Program, the state’s phased approach to restoration at the sea. The program is intended to guide investments to protect public health and improve the ecosystem of the Salton Sea.

Restoration plans include the 3,770 acre Species Conservation Habitat project on the southeastern shore, a wetlands project at Red Hill Bay, also on the southeastern side, and the proposed 3,000-acre North Lake project on the northern end of the sea.

Salton Sea Restoration Program is moving forward with a restoration project to benefit migratory birds.

A major habitat restoration project at the Salton Sea is set to start that would enhance habitat for migratory birds and cover more exposed sea bed. Photo: Water Authority

Bruce Wilcox advances Salton Sea restoration

In accepting the resolution in his honor, Wilcox said there were positive steps forward toward implementing the projects. He also said he hopes to stay involved with the Salton Sea. During his tenure as the first Assistant Secretary for Salton Sea Policy, Wilcox worked tirelessly to advance restoration of the sea.

The California Natural Resources Agency is working to implement the Phase 1 10-year restoration program but is also looking at other mid-term and long-term restoration efforts. Arturo Delgado, who formerly worked on Salton Sea issues under the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, has been appointed as the new assistant secretary assigned to the Salton Sea.

Dust suppression projects planned

During a recent two-day summit on the Salton Sea held at the Palm Desert campus of University of California, Riverside, Delgado announced plans for 9,000 acres of dust suppression projects at the sea, an attempt to meet missed annual targets for addressing exposed playa over the first three years of the restoration program. The first 200 acres of dust suppression projects, to be located near where the New River flows into the sea, could get under way before the end of this year.

The Imperial County Board of Supervisors recently declared a local state of emergency at the Salton Sea. County officials say the move is intended to speed up the permitting process for restoration projects and get additional federal and state funding to improve the health of the sea.

OPINION: Valley Voice: Regional Effort Puts Water Solutions in Place for the Coachella Valley

/in , , /by /Desert Sun (Palm Springs)by Berlinda Blackburn

Behind the scenes, the valley’s public water agencies have been working together to earn grants and improve water management for our entire region.

In 2008, they formed the Coachella Valley Regional Water Management Group (Regional Group) to:

  • reduce water demand;
  • increase our region’s water supply;
  • improve regional water quality;
  • serve as stewards of our shared water resource, and;
  • improve efficiency and flexibility.
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OPINION: Is There Enough Water For Us In The Desert? Water Agencies Work To Keep It Flowing.

/in , /by /The Desert Sun (Palm Springs)by Joseph K. Stuart

Is there enough water in our desert? I am often asked this question. Everywhere you look new homes, hotels and master-planned developments are appearing. It is wise to ask whether we have enough water for these future desert residents and visitors. Permits for new projects are under the jurisdiction of cities or the county — not under the purview of water agencies. Water agencies are tasked with supplying the water. Balancing growth and water supplies is nothing new to desert communities. It has always been a fact of life in our desert and is one of Desert Water Agency’s most important responsibilities.

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A Legal Battle In The Coachella Valley Could Transform How California—And The Nation—Uses Water

/in , /by /Pacific Standard (Santa Barbara)by Sophie Yeo

In a legal battle between a Californian tribe and the state’s water agencies, experts are seeing a turning point in the history of United States water rights, potentially affecting how water is controlled across the entire country. In November of last year, the Supreme Court declined to hear a case that the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians, concerned about the effects of climate change and the quality of the water in the aquifer, brought against the Coachella Valley Water District and the Desert Water Agency. This Supreme Court decision left standing a Ninth Circuit ruling, which established—for the first time—the principle that tribes have priority over their reservations’ groundwater.

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OPINION: As Elsewhere, Here In The Coachella Valley Economies Grow Where Water Flows

/in , /by /The Desert Sun (Palm Springs)by Ben Olson

A century ago, the Coachella Valley looked nothing like it does today. But the foundation for its future growth and success was set in place those many years ago by forward-thinking pioneers who knew that economies grow where water flows. Without water, growth in the valley would stop. The Coachella Valley Water District (CVWD) was formed as a flood control Special District in 1918. Those early Coachella Valley farmers realized natural recharge of the basin was not going to provide sufficient water for the agricultural development our forefathers envisioned.

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Farmers Keep Majority On Coachella Valley Water District Board As John Powell Jr. Defeats Ed Muzik

/in , /by /The Desert Sun (Palm Springs)by Sammy Roth

The Coachella Valley’s largest water agency will still have three farmers on its five-member board next year, as Peter Rabbit Farms CEO John Powell Jr. won re-election over Ed Muzik, general manager of the Hi-Desert Water District in Yucca Valley. Powell is one of several incumbents who won re-election to local water boards Tuesday. At Coachella Valley Water District, where Powell has served as board president since 2012, G. Patrick O’Dowd was also re-elected. So were three members of the Desert Water Agency’s board of directors, Jim Cioffi, Patricia Oygar and Joe Stuart.

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