CVWD backs 2085 water-exchange extension and 150,000 acre-foot capacity
Coachella Valley Water District, California · Meeting date: October 27, 2026 · Published: October 28, 2026
Coachella Valley Water District has approved a revised exchange agreement that raises annual exchange capacity from 100,000 acre-feet to 150,000 acre-feet. The agreement is intended to preserve the district's ability to move State Water Project supplies for groundwater replenishment while providing Metropolitan with limited dry-year buyback rights.
Key points
- The board approved the 2026 amended and restated exchange agreement, the associated State Water Project Table A transfers and an EIR addendum in a 4-0 vote.
- The agreement extends the exchange framework to 2085 and raises combined CVWD and Desert Water Agency annual exchange capacity to 150,000 acre-feet.
- It supports transfer of an additional 42,280 acre-feet of Metropolitan Table A water to CVWD.
- Metropolitan may retain up to 50,000 acre-feet in as many as five years in a 10-year period under revised buyback provisions.
Full report
Coachella Valley Water District has approved an amended water-exchange agreement with Metropolitan Water District of Southern California and Desert Water Agency that extends the arrangement through 2085 and increases annual exchange capacity by 50% to 150,000 acre-feet.
The board approved the 2026 amended and restated exchange agreement, related State Water Project Table A transfer actions and Addendum No. 1 to the 2023 Whitewater River Groundwater Replenishment Facility EIR in a 4-0 vote on October 27.
The agreement underpins CVWD's approach to bringing State Water Project supplies into the Coachella Valley. Metropolitan takes CVWD and Desert Water Agency Table A supplies into its service area and, in return, delivers equivalent Colorado River water to the Whitewater and Mission Creek replenishment facilities.
CVWD staff said the existing 100,000 acre-foot exchange agreement expires in 2035. The revised agreement would replace it with a framework running to 2085, while raising the combined annual exchange amount to 150,000 acre-feet. The action also supports an additional 42,280 acre-feet of Metropolitan Table A water for CVWD.
The district currently holds 138,350 acre-feet of State Water Project Table A entitlement. Under the revised framework, the combined CVWD and Desert Water Agency Table A volume discussed by staff would reach 244,100 acre-feet. CVWD's share of the expanded exchange capacity was identified as 180,630 acre-feet, with the balance allocated to Desert Water Agency.
A central change is Metropolitan's revised buyback right. Metropolitan may retain up to 50,000 acre-feet during dry conditions in no more than five years of any 10-year period. If available Table A supply is insufficient in a given year to meet that amount, the remaining balance may carry forward, but Metropolitan's outstanding buyback balance cannot exceed 50,000 acre-feet.
Staff presented modelling that compared the current 100,000 acre-foot arrangement, the loss of that agreement after 2035, and the 150,000 acre-foot replacement agreement with and without maximum buyback. Under the maximum-buyback scenario, staff said the long-term replenishment outcome was effectively comparable to retaining the current 100,000 acre-foot exchange. Without buyback, the district would retain more water in the groundwater basin.
The extension was also presented as a prerequisite to longer-term decisions on the Delta Conveyance Project and Sites Reservoir. Staff said the exchange agreement provides the mechanism to move water supplies because CVWD does not have a direct connection to the State Water Project.
The EIR addendum concluded that increased recharge would not create new significant environmental effects or substantially more severe effects than those identified in the 2023 EIR. Staff said additional imported water would contain the same total dissolved solids concentration considered in the earlier analysis, though higher recharge volumes could reach the previously identified salinity effect sooner.
This summary was generated by AI based on the source document and may contain errors.
Source: Board of Directors Regular Meeting, Coachella Valley Water District