Coachella Valley Golf Industry Water Task Force successful in addressing gap between East Valley RAC rate and the East Valley canal rate

The Coachella Valley Water District (CVWD) Board of Directors recently adopted Board Resolution 2019-39. The resolution benefits golf courses in the East Coachella Valley as it provides for a Type C Nonpotable Water Charge (NPWC) for non-agricultural canal water customers whose alternate source of water is groundwater in the East Whitewater Replenishment Subbasin Area of Benefit. 

In simple terms, golf courses with a direct connection to the canal water distribution system currently pay the Class 2 canal water rate, which is $104.90 per acre foot (with quagga). Under the new resolution, Type C NPWC will be $86.45 per acre foot. 

The resolution is the result of lobbying by the Coachella Valley Golf Industry Water Task Force to address a gap between the East Valley RAC rate and the East Valley canal rate that assists in weaning the golf community off groundwater pumping while bringing the aquifer into a state of balance which is the central organizing principle of the CVWD’s Groundwater Sustainability Plan.

The task force is made up of representatives from the CVWD, CMAA, GCSAA, Hi-Lo Desert GCSA, Southern California Golf Association (SCGA), Southern California PGA and various experts and consultants from the irrigation industry. 

It was founded in 2014 and meets on a bi-monthly basis to discuss golf’s use of water as well as conservation programs, education and community outreach. 

Its mission is to ensure a sustainable water supply for future generations, to meet if not exceed the goals of the Coachella Valley Water Management Plan, to pursue all feasible water conservation measures, to promote and expedite the use of nonpotable water, and to educate Valley residents regarding the importance of pursuing these goals for the environmental and economic quality of life in the Coachella Valley.

To receive the Type C NPWC, a Nonpotable Water Agreement with the Type C language will need to be signed and notarized. If you are already operating under a Nonpotable Water Agreement, then a First Amendment to the Nonpotable Water Agreement with the Type C language will need to be signed and notarized. 

If you are an East Valley facility interested in the Type C NPWC for the use of canal water for golf course and landscape irrigation, contact Olivia Bennett with the CVWD at OBennett@cvwd.org.