Palo Verde Irrigation District Conserved Water Supply Program

Palo Verde Irrigation District Conserved Water Supply Program

The Palo Verde Irrigation District (PVID) is the Lead Agency and will prepare a Program Environmental Impact Report pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) for the proposed Conserved Water Supply Program project (Project). The Colorado River is the sole source of water for irrigation and for potable water in the district, which occupies about 189 square miles of territory in Riverside and Imperial counties, California. The Colorado River, which is the boundary between California and Arizona forms the eastern and southern boundaries of PVID. In response to potentially chronic Colorado River water supply shortages in current and future years, PVID proposes to develop and implement a Conserved Water Supply Program including a range of infrastructure improvements, voluntary fallowing, and farm management measures to conserve water for potential water transfers to assist other Lower Colorado River water users. This proposed conservation program will pay farmers to annually set aside a portion of their land, rotate their crops for the purpose of transferring saved water to other Lower Colorado River water users that have contracted to purchase the transfer water. Land management and infrastructure improvements to be considered as elements of the Program will be determined in the initial stage of plan development and may include: Farm management, including: • On-farm Conservation (seasonal fallowing, deficit irrigation, early crop termination, crop rotation and crop switching) • Fallowing Lands seasonally or for an entire year. Potential District Infrastructure improvements, including: • Canal Lining to Reduce Evaporation Losses • Regulating Reservoir Storage And drain management including: • Drain Maintenance / Evapotranspiration (ET) Salvage The Conserved Water Supply Program may include irrigated farmland throughout the district, and interested growers will participate on a voluntary basis. All farmlands that may voluntarily participate in the water conservation program have been in agricultural use for decades.

Blythe

Imperial, Riverside

Southern California

California Air Resources Board (ARB), California Department of Conservation (DOC), California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Habitat Conservation Planning (CDFW), California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Inland Deserts Region 6 (CDFW), California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE), California Department of Parks and Recreation, California Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery, California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC), California Department of Transportation, District 8 (DOT), California Department of Water Resources (DWR), California Fish and Game Commission (CDFGC), California Governor's Office of Emergency Services (OES), California Highway Patrol (CHP), California Natural Resources Agency, California Regional Water Quality Control Board, Colorado River Basin Region 7 (RWQCB), California State Lands Commission (SLC), Colorado River Board, Office of Historic Preservation, State Water Resources Control Board, Division of Drinking Water, State Water Resources Control Board, Division of Drinking Water, District 20, State Water Resources Control Board, Division of Drinking Water, District 26, State Water Resources Control Board, Division of Water Quality, State Water Resources Control Board, Division of Water Rights, State Water Resources Control Board, Divison of Financial Assistance, University of California Natural Reserve System (UCNRS), California Native American Heritage Commission (NAHC)

California Native American Heritage Commission (NAHC)

Other (Water Conservation Program)

Water Conservation Program

Agriculture and Forestry Resources, Biological Resources, Cultural Resources, Cumulative Effects, Hydrology/Water Quality, Mandatory Findings of Significance, Tribal Cultural Resources