DWA General Manager Mark Krause and other water leaders gathered on Dec. 11 to sign a historic agreement that brings more reliability to DWA’s water supply.

The signing ceremony between Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, Coachella Valley Water District and Desert Water Agency was held during the Colorado River Water Users Association annual conference.

The extended exchange agreement allows DWA to continue to responsibly manage the basin with imported water without building an exorbitantly expensive physical connection to the State Water Project.

The exchange agreement between MWD and CVWD has allowed DWA to exchange nearly 1.5 million acre-feet of its State Water Project allocation with MWD’s Colorado River water. It's delivered to Mission Creek and Whitewater replenishment facilities via an aqueduct running through the Coachella Valley.

Without this exchange agreement, a 40-80 mile long pipeline would be needed to connect to State Water project infrastructure near San Bernardino where MWD receives their deliveries. This would cost our community about $1.6 billion to build.

Desert Water Agency has been a State Water Project contractor since 1961. The new agreement is the result of years of negotiations and brings significant benefits to our customers.

To read the Amended and Restated Agreement between the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, Coachella Valley Water District and Desert Water Agency, click here