Groundwater Sustainability Agencies
The Coachella Valley Water District (CVWD), Coachella Water Authority (CWA), Desert Water Agency (DWA), and Indio Water Authority (IWA) have been designated as “exclusive” Groundwater Sustainability Agencies (GSAs) over their respective service areas by the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) in the Indio Subbasin. The four agencies are working collaboratively to implement the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) in the Indio Subbasin.
On December 29, 2016, the Indio Subbasin GSAs collaboratively submitted the 2010 Coachella Valley Water Management Plan Update, with an associated Bridge Document, as an Alternative to a Groundwater Sustainability Plan (Alternative Plan) for the Indio Subbasin to DWR for review and evaluation. On July 17, 2019, DWR determined that the Alternative Plan for the Indio Subbasin satisfies the objectives of SGMA and notified the Indio Subbasin GSAs that the Alternative Plan was approved and that they would be required to submit an assessment and update of the Alternative Plan by January 1, 2022, and every five years thereafter. A copy of the Alternative Plan for the Indio Subbasin can be found at DWR's SGMA Portal.
The Indio Subbasin GSAs collaboratively prepared the 2022 Indio Subbasin Alternative Plan Update. The GSAs adopted the 2022 Indio Subbasin Alternative Plan Update following a public hearing on November 30, 2021, and submitted it to DWR on December 29, 2021. The 2022 Indio Subbasin Alternative Plan Update and information about the update process can be found at www.IndioSubbasinSGMA.org. A copy of the 2022 Indio Subbasin Alternative Plan Update can be found at DWR's SGMA Portal. The next assessment and update of the Alternative Plan will be due to DWR by January 1, 2027.
On February 1, 2018, DWR notified all GSAs who submitted Alternative Plans that they would be required to submit annual reports pursuant to SGMA by April 1, 2018, and every year thereafter. The Indio Subbasin GSAs have collaboratively prepared and submitted the Indio Subbasin Annual Reports by Water Year to DWR. Copies of the Annual Reports can be found at DWR's SGMA Portal.