County Supervisors Endorse Pass Area Water Management Plan

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA — Riverside County supervisors Tuesday unanimously endorsed the San Gorgonio Integrated Regional Water Management Plan, authorizing county agencies to coordinate with governing entities in the San Gorgonio Pass to develop watershed preservation strategies and initiate other projects that enhance water quality and availability.

"Years ago, we had water companies out there fighting and feuding like the Hatfields and McCoys," said Supervisor Marion Ashley, whose Fifth District encompasses the area. "There was a task force convened to work on the problems, and they've been working hand-in-glove since then. It's been beyond everybody's expectations."

The water management plan calls for the city of Banning, the Banning Heights Mutual Water Company the Cabazon Water District, the High Valleys Water District, the Riverside County Flood Control District and the San Gorgonio Pass Water Agency to work in concert toward finding solutions to watershed depletion and pressures building on aquifers as a result of population growth and other factors.

By having a framework agreement between all parties, officials said there will be fewer hassles in applying for grants, particularly California Proposition 1 -- Infrastructure Improvement Act of 2014 -- funding, of which the region has already received $1 million.

The plan calls for prioritizing projects to meet prevailing needs.

According to officials, area Indian tribes, businesses and water customers in general will be invited to participate in public planning sessions, notices of which will be posted online, including at the San Gorgonio Integrated Regional Water Management Plan website, www.sgirwm.org.

The plan lists a series of near and long-term goals, listed here:

• increase regional supply and reliability of water stocks
• improve resilience of regional water distribution systems
• develop tools to understand hydrologic processes
• decrease impacts to groundwater quality
• increase resilience to changing water quality improvements
• enhance regional flood control infrastructure
• protect riparian and aquatic habitat
• support the affordability of water
• support climate change mitigation measures

Stakeholders partnered at the end of 2016, but the new water management plan formalizes the collaboration.

— By City News Service / Image via Shutterstock