City of Palm Desert/Adopted 3.15.04
Comprehensive General Plan/Water Resources Element
WATER RESOURCES ELEMENT
PURPOSE
The Water Resources Element addresses water quality, availability and conservation for the
City’s current and future needs. The Element also discusses the importance of on-going
coordination and cooperation between the City, Coachella Valley Water District (CVWD) and
other agencies responsible for supplying water to the region. Topics include the Coachella
Valley’s ground water replenishment program, consumptive demand of City residents and
businesses, and wastewater management and its increasingly important role in the protection of
ground water resources. The goals, policies and programs set forth in this element direct staff
and other City officials in the management of this essential resource.
BACKGROUND
The Water Resources Element is directly related to the Land Use Element, which is also
responsive to the location and availability of water resources. The Element also has a direct
relationship to the Flooding and Hydrology Element, in its effort to protect and enhance
groundwater recharge. Water issues are also integral components of the following elements:
Hazardous and Toxic Materials, Police and Fire Protection, Economic Development, Emergency
Preparedness, and Water, Sewer and Utilities.
The Water Resources Element addresses topics set forth in California Government Code Section
65302(d). Also, in accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), Section
21083.2(g), the City is empowered to require that adequate research and documentation be
conducted when the potential for significant impacts to water and other important resources
exists.
The early production of water in the Coachella Valley is associated with the direct use and
diversion of streams in mountain canyons and the excavation of shallow wells by Native
Americans within the past 500 years. Early in the 20th century, wells were drilled and
groundwater was pumped to provide agricultural irrigation and domestic water. Until the 1930s,
groundwater recharge in the region was from percolation of natural runoff. While there has been
some inflow of groundwater into basins underlying the Coachella Valley from groundwater
basins outside the region, areas of low permeability, fault barriers and constrictions in basin
profiles limit the movement of groundwater. To assure a continuous supply of domestic water to
meet demand, ground water replenishment programs and wastewater reclamation strategies have
been implemented throughout the Coachella Valley. These may soon be extended to include
reclaimed agricultural runoff, greater use of native and other drought-tolerant landscaping, and
greater use efficiencies in homes and businesses.
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Comprehensive General Plan/Water Resources Element
DOMESTIC WATER RESOURCES
The Coachella Valley is underlain by several large subsurface aquifers, known as subbasins, with
boundaries that are generally defined by tectonic faults that restrict the lateral movement of
water. The Whitewater River subbasin, the largest groundwater repository for the Coachella
Valley, underlies the City of Palm Desert and a substantial portion of the valley floor. It is the
primary groundwater repository serving the Palm desert planning area.
The Coachella Valley Water District (CVWD) provides domestic water services to Palm Desert
using wells to extract groundwater from the Whitewater River subbasin. The subbasin is
artificially recharged with imported Colorado River water carried via the Metropolitan Water
District Aqueduct, which passes through the northern Coachella Valley. The subbasin is also
recharged naturally with runoff from the San Jacinto, Santa Rosa and San Bernardino Mountains.
Limited portions of the General Plan planning area, including lands north of the Indio Hills, are
underlain by the Desert Hot Springs subbasin. The Santa Rosa Mountains, which are comprised
of non-water bearing bedrock, and the Indio Hills are not underlain by any subsurface aquifers.
Desert Hot Springs Subbasin
The Sky Valley community, in the northerly portion of the planning area, is underlain by the
Desert Hot Springs subbasin. Water-bearing materials in the subbasin primarily consist of
coarse-grained, poorly sorted alluvial fan deposits, which are principally of Ocotillo
conglomerate estimated to be more than 700 feet thick. Recent fanglomerates cover most of the
land surface, and recent alluvium in the subbasin ranges in thickness from a thin edge to more
than 100 feet. According to CVWD’s “Engineer’s Report on Water Supply and Replenishment
Assessment, 2000-2001,” the Desert Hot Springs subbasin contains approximately 4.1 million
acre-feet of groundwater in storage in the first 1,000 feet below the ground surface.
Groundwater in this subbasin is characterized by high concentrations of fluoride, total dissolved
solids, sodium sulfates and other undesirable minerals, which have limited its use for agricultural
and domestic water purposes. The presence of high mineral concentrations is largely due to
faulting along the margins of the subbasin. Several of the subbasin’s boundaries are defined by
faults, including the Mission Creek, Indio Hills, San Andreas, and Mecca Hills Faults. Faulting is
associated with geothermal activity, which warms the earth’s crust. As subsurface temperatures
rise, minerals contained within the subbasin’s sediment profiles are more easily dissolved and
mixed with groundwater, increasing the overall mineral content of the water.
The Coachella Valley Water District does not extract groundwater from the Desert Hot Springs
Subbasin, given its high concentration of undesirable minerals. Instead, domestic water for the
Sky Valley and Indio Hills communities is extracted by CVWD from the Mission Creek
Subbasin to the west.
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City of Palm Desert/Adopted 3.15.04
Comprehensive General Plan/Water Resources Element
Mission Creek Subbasin
Although the Mission Creek Subbasin does not underlie the General Plan planning area, it is the
source of domestic water for the Sky Valley and Indio Hills communities in the northerly portion
of the planning area. The Subbasin is located west of the Desert Hot Springs Subbasin and
extends west to the base of the San Bernardino Mountains. Water depths below the ground
surface, as determined by the U.S. Geological Survey in 1971, range from a maximum of 425
feet in the northwesterly portion, to flowing wells at a minimum in a narrow strip along the
Banning Fault.
According to CVWD, the Mission Creek Subbasin has approximately 2.6 million acre-feet of
groundwater in storage in the first 1,000 feet below the ground surface. It is naturally recharged
by surface and subsurface discharge, most of which is from Mission Creek, and Little and Big
Morongo Creeks. A steady water level decline of approximately 0.5 to 1.5 feet per year has been
observed since 1952.
Whitewater River Subbasin
The City of Palm Desert in underlain by the Whitewater River subbasin, which encompasses
approximately 400 square miles and underlies much of the Coachella Valley. It generally extends
from the junction of Interstate-10 and Highway 111, to the Salton Sea approximately 70 miles to
the east. The subbasin is bounded on the north and east by the Garnet Hill and San Andreas
Faults, respectively, and on the south by the San Jacinto and Santa Rosa Mountains.
The Whitewater River subbasin is divided into four subareas: Palm Springs, Thermal, Thousand
Palms and Oasis. Most of the General Plan planning area, including the incorporated City of
Palm Desert, occurs within the boundaries of the upper Thermal subarea, which extends from
Cathedral City to Point Happy (near the intersection of Washington Street and State Highway
111). Lands in the Thousand Palms community occur within the boundaries of the Thousand
Palms subarea.
Thermal Subarea
The Thermal subarea is characterized by confined or semi-confined groundwater conditions,
with free moving water conditions present in alluvial fans at the base of the Santa Rosa
Mountains, including alluvial fans at the mouth of Deep Canyon. CVWD well logs have
identified two aquifer zones in the Thermal subarea. The lower aquifer zone is estimated to be at
least 500 feet and possibly more than 1,000 feet thick, and is composed of Ocotillo
conglomerate, which consists of gravels and silty sands interbedded with silt and clay. The upper
aquifer zone is similar in composition to the lower aquifer zone, but is not as thick. An aquitard
layer, composed of fine-grained materials that slow the vertical flow of groundwater, separates
the upper and lower aquifer zones and is estimated to be between 100 and 200 feet thick
throughout much of the Thermal subarea. According to CVWD, the entire Thermal subarea
contains approximately 19.4 million acre-feet of groundwater in storage in the first 1,000 feet
below the ground surface.
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Groundwater levels in the Thermal subarea are directly related to those in the Palm Springs
subarea to the west. Water moves from the Palm Springs subarea southeastward into the Thermal
subarea, and when water levels in the Palm Springs subarea decline, the upper zone available for
recharge at Point Happy in the Thermal subarea also declines. This trend may be changing as
increased pumpage is lowering the groundwater table in the lower Thermal subarea more rapidly
than in the Palm Springs subarea.
Thousand Palms Subarea
The Thousand Palms subarea extends along the southwesterly edge of the Indio Hills and is
small in comparison to the Thermal subarea. According to CVWD, the Thousand Palms subarea
contains approximately 1.8 million acre-feet in groundwater storage in the first 1,000 feet below
the ground surface.
The southwesterly boundary of the Thousand Palms subarea has been determined based on
distinctive groundwater mineral characteristics. Groundwater in the Thousand Palms subarea
contains high concentrations of sodium sulfate, while groundwater in other subareas of the
Whitewater River subbasin is generally composed of calcium bicarbonate. This is largely
attributed to limited recharge to the Thousand Palms subarea.
The subarea is recharged by runoff from the Indio Hills, but the quantity of recharge is limited.
Inflow from other subbasins is believed to be substantially limited, and there is little evidence of
intermixing with the Thermal subarea to the south. With limited recharge, there is little
opportunity for “dilution” from inflow groundwater, and there is a greater impact of native
sodium sulfate on groundwater quality.
DEMAND AND OVERDRAFT IN THE COACHELLA VALLEY
Depletion of the groundwater in storage has continued steadily since the expansion of
agricultural activities in the early 1900s and the development of the Coachella Valley as a
destination resort area, with new landscaped golf courses and residential developments.
CVWD estimates that the water consumption rate in the Coachella Valley is approximately 550
gallons of water per capita per day. This is an aggregate figure that accounts for all water uses in
the community, including residential, commercial, industrial, golf course, irrigation and other
uses; this per capita consumption factor is not intended to represent demand associated with a
specific land use. Project-specific impacts may be more or less, depending on the type and
density of development, and the extent of water-intensive amenities (i.e. fountains, landscaping,
swimming pools) incorporated into the project. CVWD estimates that 60% of water consumed is
permanently “lost,” and 40% is returned to the subbasin for later use.
Groundwater pumped from the Upper Coachella Valley (generally extending from Whitewater to
Palm Desert) is used primarily for domestic purposes and golf course irrigation. Water pumped
from the Lower Valley (generally extending from La Quinta to the Salton Sea) is used primarily
for domestic purposes and the irrigation of approximately 72,800 acres of agricultural land.
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Comprehensive General Plan/Water Resources Element
According to CVWD’s “Coachella Valley Water Management Plan” (November 2000), in 1936,
total water demand in the Coachella Valley was approximately 96,300 acre-feet per year. By
1999, demand had reached 668,900 acre-feet per year. These figures represent demand from all
water users in the valley, including agricultural, municipal and industrial components, fish farms,
and golf courses.
CVWD well monitoring data indicate that from the 1950s to the 1970s, water levels in the Upper
Coachella Valley decreased approximately 50 to 100 feet. From the 1920s to the 1950s, water
levels in the Lower Coachella Valley decreased by approximately 50 feet. Although they leveled
off somewhat following the introduction of Colorado River water for irrigation in 1949, they
began declining rapidly again in the 1980s, a trend which has continued to the present day. Water
levels in the vicinity of a well in Oasis have declined more than 80 feet since the mid-1980s.
The historical depletion of groundwater in the Coachella Valley has led to a condition known as
overdraft, in which the demand for groundwater exceeds the amount of recharge into the
groundwater basin over a period of time. One method of determining the extent of overdraft is to
compare the change in freshwater storage in the Coachella Valley’s groundwater subbasins. The
change in freshwater storage is the difference between inflows and outflows of the basin,
excluding inflows of poor quality water from the Salton Sea and irrigation flows that are induced
by overdraft conditions.
In 1999, the change in freshwater storage in the Coachella Valley was estimated at 136,700 acrefeet per year. In other words, approximately 136,700 acre-feet of groundwater are being
withdrawn from the basin per year, and are not being replaced. Of this, approximately 32,400
acre-feet are in overdraft in the Upper Coachella Valley, and 104,300 acre-feet are in overdraft in
the Lower Coachella Valley. The cumulative change in freshwater storage from 1936 to 1999 is
estimated at nearly 4.7 million acre-feet. Table IV-5, below, illustrates the relative imbalance
between consumption and recharge in Coachella Valley groundwater basins (including the upper
valley and lower valley).
Within the more limited CVWD Management Area, net overdraft is estimated at 35,621 acre-feet
per year, or 0.32% per year. The Management Area includes only a portion of the Whitewater
River subbasin, including the Palm Springs and Thousand Palms subareas, and that portion of the
Upper Thermal subarea experiencing a significantly declining water table.
Overdraft conditions can result in significant adverse social, environmental and economic
impacts, including an increased potential for land subsidence which can result in ground
fissuring and damage to buildings and their foundations, sidewalks, and subsurface pipelines.
Between 1996 and 1998, as much as 7 centimeters of subsidence occurred in the Palm Desert
area. Other adverse impacts resulting from overdraft include increased infrastructure and energy
costs associated with drilling deeper wells, pumping from greater depths with larger pumps, and
the threat of a diminishing long-term water supply. Water quality may also be affected by
encouraging intrusion of lower quality groundwater into pumping areas.
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Comprehensive General Plan/Water Resources Element
Table IV-6
Comparison of Historical Inflows and Outflows
In the Coachella Valley, 1936-1999
(acre-feet)
Water Balance Component
Total Flows 1936
Inflows
Natural Recharge
32,600
Agricultural Returns
37,200
Domestic Returns
4,300
Golf Course Returns
500
Wastewater Percolation
200
SWP Recharge
0
Inflows from outside area
12,900
Inflows from Upper Valley
59,100
Total Inflows
146,800
Outflows
Groundwater Pumpage
92,400
Flows to Drains
3,200
Evapotranspiration
21,100
Net Flow to Salton Sea
5,300
Outflows to Lower Valley
59,100
Total Outflows
181,100
Annual Change in Storage
-34,300
Annual Change in Freshwater Storage
-41,800
Cumulative Change in Storage since 1936
-34,300
Cumulative Change in Freshwater Storage since 1936
-41,800
Total Flows 1999
16,800
130,700
59,200
39,300
16,500
88,800
11,500
29,400
392,200
376,100
55,800
4,900
-400
29,400
465,800
-73,600
-136,700
-1,421,400
-4,684,000
Source: Table 3-4, “Coachella Valley Draft Water Management Plan,” Coachella Valley Water District, November
2000.
WATER SUPPLY SOURCES
Groundwater is the principal water supply source in the Coachella Valley, the substantial
underground storage having grown over time from natural recharge. Other water sources include:
surface water from the Whitewater River and the Snow, Falls and Chino Creeks; recycled water
from wastewater treatment plants in the Coachella Valley; and imported Colorado River water
transported via the Colorado River Aqueduct and the Coachella Branch of the All-American
Canal.
Natural Inflow
The Whitewater River Subbasin is naturally recharged by inflows from the San Gorgonio Pass
area and across the Banning Fault. However, inflow from outside the subbasin represents only a
small percentage of groundwater recharge sources. Inflows are typically between 7,000 and
13,000 acre-feet per year. In 1999, inflow was estimated at 11,500 acre-feet per year, which was
only 3 percent of the total water balance. Natural inflow does not change significantly over time
and is no longer relied upon as the only source of groundwater recharge.
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Comprehensive General Plan/Water Resources Element
Groundwater Replenishment Program
To assure the continued availability of domestic water to the Coachella Valley, the CVWD and
Desert Water Agency (DWA) have contracted for State Water Project resources. Under this
contract, water from northern California would be transported to the valley via the Coachella
Aqueduct. However, given the extraordinary costs associated with the construction of such a
project, the aqueduct has not yet been built.
In the interim, CVWD and DWA have entered into contract agreements with the Metropolitan
Water District of Southern California (MWD) and other parties of interest. These arrangements
allows CVWD and DWA to exchange their State Water Project (SWP) entitlements for like
amounts of water from MWD’s Colorado River Aqueduct, which passes through the northern
portion of the Coachella Valley. MWD’s aqueduct is tapped where it crosses the Whitewater
River, and the exchange water is diverted to nineteen spreading ponds, where it percolates to
replenish the Whitewater Subbasin.
CVWD has also constructed a pilot recharge facility just south of Lake Cahuilla to determine
whether recharge can be successfully accomplished in the Lower Coachella Valley, where
groundwater subbasins and subareas are characterized by aquitards (impermeable or semiimpermeable layers) that reduce the rate at which groundwater flows. The facility, which began
operation in 1995 and was expanded in 1998, has been successful in recharging about 30,000
acre-feet per year.
A substantial amount of Colorado River water is also delivered to the Lower Coachella Valley
via the Coachella Branch of the All-American Canal. This water is used primarily for the
irrigation of approximately 72,800 acres of fruit and vegetable crops, but is also supplied to fish
farms, waterfowl migration ponds (“duck clubs”) and commercial greenhouses in the lower
valley. A few golf courses and recreational lakes are also supplied by canal water.
The quantity of Colorado River water diverted to the Coachella Valley fluctuates when
inadequate rainfall or snowfall require that the water be directed toward the Los Angeles basin.
In 1977, under the exchange contract the Whitewater River subbasin received no Colorado River
water due to severe droughts, and the 1991 drought limited delivery to only 14 acre-feet to the
valley. However, since its inception in 1973, the SWP program has delivered more than 1.7
million acre-feet (or about 50,000 acre-feet per year) of Colorado River water to the Whitewater
River subbasin. Despite these replenishment efforts, groundwater levels in the Coachella Valley
continue to decline.
The 1931 Seven Party Agreement divides California’s share of Colorado River water among
seven California agencies, including CVWD. Per the agreement, the CVWD and Imperial
Irrigation District (IID), which also serves the Coachella Valley, share the third priority position
for Colorado River water. However, IID has the first option to take as much third priority water
as it can put to “reasonable and beneficial use” within its service area.
A new tentative agreement, known as the Quantification Settlement Agreement, has been drafted
between CVWD, IID and MWD, which proposes that an average of approximately 456,000 acrefeet per year be made available to CVWD during the lifetime of the agreement (75 years).
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Approval of the agreement would provide CVWD with reasonable assurances of a continued
supplemental water resource. The environmental analysis and review process for the agreement
have not yet been completed, and formal approval is pending.
Tertiary Treated Water
To further reduce the impacts of development on groundwater supplies, CVWD has
implemented the use of “recycled” or tertiary (third stage) treated wastewater for golf course,
landscape and other irrigation purposes. Wastewater typically undergoes two levels of treatment
before it is released to percolation ponds and reintroduced into the groundwater table. Tertiary
treated wastewater, however, undergoes an additional stage of treatment, making it suitable for
irrigation purposes and decreasing, to some extent, the demand for groundwater resources.
Effluent from fish farms has also been recycled by CVWD for use in agricultural irrigation, and
duck clubs and fish farm ponds in the lower valley.
Recycled water was first used in the Coachella Valley in 1965. According to CVWD, usage
remained below 500 acre-feet per year until the late 1980s, when its usage increased
dramatically. During 1999, usage in the Upper Coachella Valley increased to 8,100 acre-feet.
Several wastewater treatment plants in the Palm Desert area are capable of recycling wastewater.
The Cook Street wastewater treatment plant, which serves Palm Desert and other communities,
has a tertiary water capacity of 10 million gallons per day (mgd). The Cook Street plant is
expected to undergo expansion to 15 mgd in the next few years. Another treatment plant located
at the intersection of Madison and Avenue 38 is capable of treating 2.5 mgd of reclaimed water
per day
WATER QUALITY
Groundwater quality is dependent upon a number of factors, including the water source, type of
water-bearing materials in which the water occurs, water depth, proximity to faults, presence of
surface contaminants, and quality of well maintenance. Water quality in the Coachella Valley is
generally good to excellent.
Total Dissolved Solids
During the 1930s, total dissolved solids (TDS) concentrations in the upper aquifer of the
Coachella Valley groundwater basin were typically less than 250 milligrams per liter (mg/L). By
the 1970s, TDS concentrations averaged 300 mg/L, and TDS levels currently average
approximately 540 mg/L. High TDS concentrations in the upper aquifer typically occur adjacent
to major faults, including the San Andreas Fault Zone. TDS levels in the lower aquifer are also
typically high in the vicinity of major faults, including the fault zone separating the Thousand
Palms subarea from the Thermal subarea where TDS concentrations exceed 1,000 mg/L.
The water quality of the upper Whitewater River subbasin has also been affected by the
importation of Colorado River water, which is about three times higher in total dissolved solids
than natural upper Whitewater River groundwater. The following table illustrates the relative
quality of surface water recharging the subbasin, including that imported from the Colorado
River and other sources of natural recharge.
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Comprehensive General Plan/Water Resources Element
Source
Constituent
Ca
Mg
Na
K
Cl
Total
Dissolved Solids
Table IV-7
Mineral Analysis of Representative Surface Waters
Whitewater
River (North)
Snow Creek
Colorado River
epm1/ppm2
epm/ppm
epm/ppm
1.75/35
0.50/10
3.97/79
0.90/11
0/0
2.31/28
0.62/14
0.47/11
4.78/110
0.108/4.2
0.04/1.6
0.11/4.3
0.1/4
0/0
6.01/213
201 ppm
55 ppm
727 ppm
Whitewater
River (South)
epm/ppm
9.08/181
3.74/45
32.58/749
0.39/15
15.96/566
2,983 ppm
Notes: 1 epm = chemical equivalents per million; 2 ppm = parts per million by weight
Source: DWR Bulletin No. 108: Coachella Valley Investigation, California Dept. of Water Resources, July 1964.
Nitrates
Another impact on area groundwater is contamination associated with long-term discharge from
on-lot septic systems. According to CVWD, nitrate concentrations in the groundwater from some
of the Coachella Valley’s wells increased from levels of less than 4 mg/L in the 1930s to more
than 45 mg/L in the 1970s. These increases are most likely related to the application of fertilizer
on agricultural lands and golf courses, and effluent from septic tanks and wastewater treatment
plants.
In 1993, the Desert Water Agency published a report entitled “The Effect of Subsurface
Wastewater Disposal Systems on Groundwater Within Cathedral City,” which indicated that a
virus which infects E coli bacteria was found in limited quantities within groundwater supplies in
the southern portion of Cathedral City. The impurity was determined to be related to the heavy
use of septic systems in the area. Water quality testing indicated that high nitrate levels affected
only DWA’s monitoring wells. Its production wells, which draw water from depths of over 400
feet below the surface, were unaffected.
The Coachella Valley Water District, Riverside County Health Department and the Regional
Water Quality Control Board have also acknowledged that septic tanks have the potential to
adversely impact groundwater supplies. The greatest impacts to groundwater quality are
expected to occur where septic systems are built in porous soils, serve large populations in high
densities and are poorly maintained. Community sewer systems provide excellent protection of
groundwater resources, as they provide for the controlled treatment of sewage materials and
allow safe groundwater recharge or re-use of treated wastewater.
While much of the development in the City of Palm Desert is connected to the community sewer
system, development in outlying areas of the planning area continues to utilize individual septic
systems. Scattered residential and commercial sites north of the City continue to rely on private
septic systems for the disposal of wastewater. Many of these systems will be abandoned over
time, as future development occurs and infrastructure is expanded.
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Salts
Salts are also added to the groundwater basin through natural recharge, the importation of water,
wastewater percolation, the application of fertilizers, and intrusion from the Salton Sea into the
groundwater basin. CVWD estimates that approximately 12,000 tons of salt were added to the
groundwater basin in 1936.
By 1999, this figure has risen to approximately 265,000 tons per year, 65% of which originated
in the Lower Coachella Valley where agriculture predominates. In farming areas, salt removal
can be accomplished via agricultural drains that drain directly into the Salton Sea, and the
Coachella Valley Stormwater Channel, which in the lower valley contains agricultural drainage
and fish farm effluent.
WATER QUALITY REGULATION
A variety of federal and state legislation has been enacted to assure adequate planning,
implementation and enforcement of water quality control efforts. Federal water quality
legislation includes the Clean Water Act and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
State statutes and administrative laws applicable to water quality include the California Water
Code, California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), California Code of Regulations, and other
codes such as the Health and Safety Code, Fish and Game Code and Public Resources Code.
The California Regional Water Quality Control Board (CRWQCB) implements federal and state
laws pertaining to water quality. In the Coachella Valley, the CRWQCB primarily addresses
issues regarding agricultural drainage, impacts of geothermal power, and concerns about the
Salton Sea, Tahquitz Creek and other sources of surface water. The CRWQCB also monitors
leaking fuel storage tanks, illegal discharges of human or animal waste, and sites on which
hazardous and toxic materials have been inappropriately disposed.
NATIONAL POLLUTANT DISCHARGE ELIMINATION SYSTEM
The National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) implements the federal Clean
Water Act and was adopted in 1990. The NPDES mandates that plans and programs for
stormwater management be developed, adopted and implemented to assure that municipalities
“effectively prohibit non-storm water discharge into storm drains, and requires controls to reduce
the discharge of pollutants from stormwater systems to waters of the United States to the
maximum extent possible.” Pollutant control measures are exempt from CEQA analysis.
The City of Palm Desert is a co-permittee with the County of Riverside, CVWD, Riverside
County Flood Control and Water Conservation District and all county municipalities within the
Whitewater River Basin for NPDES management. The City of Public Works Department
manages the city’s NPDES program.
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Comprehensive General Plan/Water Resources Element
WATER CONSERVATION EFFORTS
With increasing demands on limited water supplies in the Coachella Valley, efforts to reduce per
capita consumption are a priority. One of the best opportunities for water conservation is the
implementation of water-efficient landscaping design and management. The City has adopted a
Water-Efficient Landscape Ordinance, as required by the California Water Conservation in
Landscaping Act of 1990 (see Section 24.04 of Palm Desert Municipal Code). The ordinance
establishes minimum water-efficient landscape requirements for all new and rehabilitated public
and private landscape projects.
The ordinance also requires development project proponents to submit landscape construction
plans, grading plans, irrigation design plans and landscape maintenance schedules for review and
approval by the Public Works Department. In some cases, landscape irrigation audits and soils
analyses are required.
The City is also in the process of preparing a Parking Lot Tree Ordinance, which will identify
specific landscaping requirements for parking lots that will also be responsive to water
conservation goals. The Public Works Department will be responsible for reviewing proposed
parking lot landscaping plans for their conformance with this ordinance. The City also complies
with State law which, since 1992, has mandated the installation of low-flush toilets and low-flow
showerheads and faucets in new construction.
The Coachella Valley Water District has been instrumental in developing and implementing
regional water conservation programs. CVWD offers water audits to farms, golf courses and
homeowner associations in an effort to identify wasteful water usage and improve efficiency. It
also reviews landscape plans for major housing and commercial developments, and offers
landscape workshops and other educational programs to homeowners associations and students.
CVWD maintains two xeriscape gardens to demonstrate the effective use of native plants and
efficient irrigation systems. The treatment and use of reclaimed and recycled water has further
reduced the adverse impacts of development on groundwater resources.
Water conservation should be second nature to City residents and other desert dwellers.
Fortunately, most residents have shown an appreciation for the native desert environment and the
excellent opportunity it provides to reduce the use of turf grasses and other types of heavily
water-dependent landscaping.
FUTURE DIRECTIONS
Groundwater subbasins do not respect jurisdictional boundaries, and the threat of groundwater
depletion or contamination must be viewed from both a regional and local perspective. Effective
storm water management will help protect groundwater quality, and protection of the region’s
major mountain watersheds will help assure and optimize long-term natural recharge to the
Whitewater River and other groundwater repositories.
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The conservation and wise use of water resources will continue to be a central theme of
community development planning in Southern California. The City of Palm Desert has
developed policies and programs that encourage and/or require water-efficient landscaping and
irrigation design, as well as water-conserving home appliances and fixtures. The City plays an
important role in the long-term protection of this essential, finite and valuable resource.
GOALS, POLICIES AND PROGRAMS
Goal
A dependable supply of safe, high-quality domestic water to meet the needs of all segments of
the community.
Policy 1
To the greatest extent practical, the City shall continue to encourage the use of drought-tolerant,
low water consuming landscaping as a means of reducing overall and per capita water demand.
Program 1.A
Continue to implement the City’s Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance to optimize conservation
and comply with State Assembly Bill 325 (AB 325), by requiring the use of native and other
drought-tolerant planting materials and efficient irrigation systems.
Responsible Agency: Public Works Department, Community Development Department, CVWD
Schedule: Continuous
Program 1.B
The City shall coordinate and cooperate with the Coachella Valley Water District to expand and
strengthen educational/public relations programs regarding the importance of water conservation
and water-efficient landscaping. Programs may include informational flyers, community
workshops, technology transfer fairs and other means of education and information
dissemination.
Responsible Agency: Public Works Department, Community Development Department, CVWD
Schedule: Continuous
Policy 2
The City shall encourage, facilitate and/or require the use of water conserving appliances and
fixtures in all new development, as required by state law.
Program 2.A
Provide educational information on the use of low-flush toilets, and low-flow showerheads and
faucets, and require the application of water-conserving technologies in conformance with
Section 17921.3 of the Health and Safety Code, Title 20, California Administrative Code Section
1601(b), and applicable sections of Title 24 of the State Code.
Responsible Agency: Community Development Department, Public Works Department
Schedule: Continuous
Policy 3
The City shall encourage CVWD’s continuation and expansion of groundwater recharge efforts
and use of tertiary treated wastewater as a means of reducing demand for groundwater resources.
Water Resources Element
IV-49
City of Palm Desert/Adopted 3.15.04
Comprehensive General Plan/Water Resources Element
Program 3.A
Coordinate with the Coachella Valley Water District regarding the continued use and future
expansion of tertiary treated wastewater treatment and distribution facilities to serve existing and
new development projects in the City.
Responsible Agency: Community Development Department, Public Works Department, CVWD
Schedule: Continuous
Policy 4
Encourage or require that all existing and new development be connected to the sewage
treatment system of the Coachella Valley Water District.
Program 4.A
Consult and coordinate with CVWD regarding the expansion and funding of sewer service to
unconnected areas, and consider approaches and mechanisms that facilitate financing and
construction of these facilities.
Responsible Agency: Community Development Department, CVWD
Schedule: Continuous
Policy 5
The City shall provide direction and guidelines for the development of on-site storm water
retention facilities consistent with local and regional drainage plans and community design
standards.
Program 5.A
Establish and enforce regulations and guidelines for the development and maintenance of
project-specific on-site retention/detention basins, which implement the NPDES program,
enhance groundwater recharge, complement regional flood control facilities, and address
applicable community design policies.
Responsible Agency: Public Works Department, Community Development Department
Schedule: Continuous
Policy 6
Coordinate with the Coachella Valley Water District, the California Regional Water Quality
Control Board and other appropriate agencies to share information on potential groundwater
contaminating sources and management of same.
Program 6.A
Develop and maintain a system to share records and technical information with CVWD,
CRWQCB and other appropriate agencies regarding all sites that have the potential to
contaminate groundwater resources serving the City. Cooperate and encourage the development
of effective mitigation strategies to address potential contamination issues
Responsible Agency: Community Development Department, Public Works Department,
CVWD, California Regional Water Quality Control Board
Schedule: Continuous
Water Resources Element
IV-50
City of Palm Desert/Adopted 3.15.04
Comprehensive General Plan/Water Resources Element
Policy 7
The City shall evaluate all proposed land use and development plans for their potential to create
groundwater contamination hazards from point and non-point sources, and shall confer with
other appropriate agencies, as necessary, to assure adequate review.
Policy 8
The City shall consult with the Coachella Valley Water District and other jurisdictions to jointly
coordinate urban development and other water users within the long-term valley water budget.
Program 8A
The City shall actively encourage and shall participate in the development of water management
and conservation strategies, coordinating with CVAG and its member jurisdictions, the
Coachella Valley Water District, Desert Water Agency and Mission Springs Water District on
water supply and conservation programs. Programs may include refinements to water budgets,
resource cost analyses, conservation technology rebates, auditing services and others.
Responsible Agency: Community Development and Public Works departments, CVAG and
Member Jurisdictions, Valley Water Districts
Schedule: 2004-05; Continuous
Water Resources Element
IV-51