UWM Plan - Municipal Water District of Orange County

Section 3
Water Sources and Supply Reliability
QSA Joint Powers Authority Agreement and the funding mechanism it established to
cover such mitigation costs.
Metropolitan, CVWD and SDCWA have filed appeals of the court’s decision, which will
stay the ruling pending outcome of the appeal. If the ruling stands, it could delay the
implementation of programs authorized under the QSA or result in increased costs or
other adverse impacts. The impact, if any, that the ruling might have on Metropolitan’s
water supplies cannot be adequately determined at this time.
Runoff in the Colorado River Basin above Lake Powell from 2000 through 2007 was the
lowest eight-year runoff on record bringing Colorado River system storage down to 50
percent of capacity. Runoff returned to near normal during 2008 through 2010 but the
system storage remained just slightly above 50 percent of capacity.
Colorado River Programs and Long-Term Planning
Metropolitan has identified a number of programs that could be used to achieve the
regional long-term development targets for the CRA and has entered into or is exploring
agreements with a number of agencies as discussed below. These programs are described
in greater detail in Metropolitan’s 2010 RUWMP.
Existing and proposed Colorado River Water Management Programs include:
• IID / Metropolitan Conservation Program- Under this program, Metropolitan has
funded water efficiency improvements within IID’s service area in return for the
right to divert the water conserved by those investments.
• Palo Verde Land Management, Crop Rotation, and Water Supply Program- Under
this program, participating farmers in Palo Verde Irrigation District (PVID) are
paid to reduce their water use by not irrigating a portion of their land.
• Southern Nevada Water Authority (SNWA) and Metropolitan Storage and
Interstate Release Agreement- Under this agreement, additional Colorado River
supplies are made available to Metropolitan when there is space available in the
CRA to receive the water. SNWA may call on Metropolitan to reduce is
Colorado River water order to return this water no earlier than 2019, unless
Metropolitan agrees otherwise.
• Lower Colorado Water Supply Project- Under this contract, Metropolitan
receives, on an annual basis, Lower Colorado Water Supply Project water unused
by the City of Needles and other entities with no rights or insufficient rights to use
of Colorado River water in California.
Municipal Water District of Orange County
2010 Regional Urban Water Management Plan
Final
3-8