The two largest water agencies in California’s Coachella Valley are seeking to appeal a federal judge’s ruling that the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians has a “reserved right” to groundwater.
Desert Water Agency maintains that everyone, including the tribe, should have equal access to water.
There is growing concern from the agencies that the tribe may use the water unwisely, for expanding subdivisions, golf courses, or resorts, or that the tribe, having no pipes, pumps, infrastructure, or expertise in water management, will inevitably end up selling the water back to the public for a price it would determine, driving up rates for local residents.
The tribe made the case that the agencies were polluting the groundwater by using saltier, less pure Colorado River water to offset the amounts drawn out, despite assurances that the Colorado River water meets or exceeds all drinking water standards.
The Desert Sun reports:
“The case is one of many disputes over groundwater that are likely to flare in California as the drought persists.
Gov. Jerry Brown last year signed legislation that for the first time attempts to establish a statewide system for managing groundwater. The measures put local agencies in charge of managing groundwater supplies, while also giving the state new authority to step in when necessary to keep water tables from falling further.
Officials of the Coachella Valley’s water agencies say their approach to managing groundwater already meets the requirements of the new legislation. Still, they acknowledge that declining groundwater levels remain a problem and say they are working toward long-term plans to address it.
A study by the U.S. Geological Survey last year found that as groundwater pumping has led to declines in parts of the Coachella Valley’s aquifer, the surface of the ground sank by between nine inches and 2 feet from 1995 to 2010 in parts of Indian Wells, La Quinta and Palm Desert. That sort of subsidence has caused damage in parts of the Coachella Valley in the past few decades, cracking the foundations of some homes and damaging swimming pools, roads and other infrastructure. The USGS also found that the Coachella Valley Water District’s efforts to boost groundwater levels are having a positive effect near ponds in La Quinta where water from the Colorado River flows in to recharge the aquifer.”
The management of water resources, particularly in a prolonged drought, is hard work and requires a lot of investigation, analysis, planning, and coordination between various interested parties.
In the Coachella Valley situation, there is the added pressure of on-going litigation and judgment that can alter previous positions and planning. There is no easy answer to this.
For water utility authorities there is a need to plan for the security of supply, for long-term demand for water, and to manage the impacts of infrequent adverse events such as drought.
These issues fall into the demand and risk management sections of your asset management plan.
Other planning documents such as long term supply plans and analysis can provide supporting information to the asset management plan.
PHOTO CREDIT: Atomische * Tom Giebel via Flickr Creative Commons
[…] the USA, and across different asset classes asset management planning is beginning to be implemented. […]