Mission Creek Groundwater Replenishment Facility

Mission Creek Groundwater Replenishment Facility

The proposed Project consists of Desert Water Agency’s (DWA’s) approval of an amended exchange agreement to facilitate the continued operation and maintenance of the Mission Creek Groundwater Replenishment Facility (MCGRF), including a potential increase in quantities of water delivered to the MCGRF for replenishment of groundwater in the Mission Creek Subbasin (MCSB). The amended exchange agreement would increase the annual State Water Project (SWP) Table A allocation, shared between DWA and Coachella Valley Water District (CVWD), from a total of 194,100 AF to a proposed 244,100 AF per year. The SWP Table A water is exchanged for a like amount of water from the Colorado River Aqueduct (CRA). The increased allocation will potentially result in an increase in CRA water deliveries to the MCGRF of up to a theoretical maximum of 5,000 AF per year over a long-term average. The actual quantity of water delivered to the MCGRF in any given year will continue to vary depending on available SWP water and CRA water supplies and the applicable terms of the amended exchange agreement and be proportional to groundwater pumping in the MCSB per the DWA and CVWD water management agreement. The proposed Project will provide for ongoing management of the MCSB as a sustainable source of water supply for the Coachella Valley region. All Project activities would occur within the existing operational framework and physical footprint of the MCGRF and its existing facilities. The Project does not include any construction or installation of new facilities. A more detailed description of the Project is included in the Project Initial Study.

Desert Hot Springs

Riverside

Citywide, Southern California

California Air Resources Board (ARB), California Coachella Valley Mountains Conservancy (CVMC), California Department of Conservation (DOC), California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Inland Deserts Region 6 (CDFW), California Department of Parks and Recreation, California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC), California Department of Transportation, District 8 (DOT), California Department of Water Resources (DWR), California Governor's Office of Emergency Services (OES), California Highway Patrol (CHP), California Native American Heritage Commission (NAHC), California Natural Resources Agency, California Regional Water Quality Control Board, Colorado River Basin Region 7 (RWQCB), 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 Water Rights, State Water Resources Control Board, Divison of Financial Assistance

Water Facilities (Mission Creek Groundwater Replenishment Facility)(Type Water, MGD 68)

Exchange Agreement

Air Quality, Biological Resources, Cultural Resources, Cumulative Effects, Hydrology/Water Quality, Tribal Cultural Resources, Vegetation