When people settled in our region and began using groundwater without replacing it, the water levels in the underground aquifer began to drop. Desert Water Agency was created in 1961 to manage local groundwater by importing water from Northern California

Recharge aims to eliminate overdraft and help achieve long-term sustainability.

DWA is one of two State Water Project (SWP) contractors in the Coachella Valley and one of 29 across California. The SWP is the state’s primary water conveyance system from north to south. It brings snowmelt from the Sierra Nevada Mountains, along with water stored in massive reservoirs, to Southern California. DWA has rights to 55,750 acre-feet a year of SWP water annually. Various environmental, regulatory, weather-related and structural factors limit the amount of water DWA actually receives each year. Because there is no pipeline or aqueduct from the State Water Project to Palm Springs, DWA and Coachella Valley Water District (CVWD) exchange their SWP water with Metropolitan Water District of Southern California for Colorado River water. The water is delivered via the Colorado River aqueduct that runs across the Coachella Valley.  

Since 1973, DWA and CVWD have replenished the Whitewater River (Indio) basin with more than a trillion gallons of imported Colorado River water. About 30 million people use the Colorado River as their source of drinking water. Replenishing the groundwater basin helps ensure our region has enough water today and in the future. 

The imported water also generates hydropower at the Whitewater Hydroelectric Plant, one of DWA’s two hydropower facilities, helping offset the cost of importing water. 

Imported Water Fact Sheet