Coachella Valley Water District - System Conservation Implementation Agreement - Lower Colorado Conservation and Efficiency Program 2027-2028

The proposed action consists of CVWD extending a fallowing program for the System Conservation Implementation Agreement- Lower Colorado Conservation and Efficiency Program under which CVWD will enter into agreements with participating growers and the Bureau of Reclamation. CVWD’s conservation participation will take place within the CVWD service area for Colorado River Water irrigation service area, which is located in the Eastern Coachella Valley, Eastern Riverside County. Under the program CVWD will compensate the participating growers in consideration for water that is conserved by the fallowing of the agricultural farmland with a history of irrigation. CVWD or other Colorado River contractors will not consumptively use the water conserved and will instead be made available by forbearance to assist in the management of reservoir levels in the Colorado River in the Lower Basin during current drought conditions. The program is intended to operate temporarily, conserving up to 10,000 acre-feet per year (AFY) in CVWD contributions in 2027 and 2028. CVWD on average provides approximately 245,000 AFY of Colorado River Water for agricultural irrigation. The program is not a long-term program intended to permanently change agricultural land use designations. The program initially began as a two-and-half year effort in 2024 through 2026. The extended program is anticipated to begin in January 2027 and end in December 2028. Participating growers will be responsible for any required weed control and dust control on the fallowed land and will agree not to change land maintenance and crop cultivation practices on other lands within CVWD to result in an increased consumptive use of water on those lands. Participants in the program will be prohibited from shifting water use to pumped groundwater while in the fallowing program.