House Approves Bono/Issa Bill For Rancho California Water District Regional Water Plan

Press Release

House Approves Bono/Issa Bill for Rancho California Water District Regional Water Plan

The U.S. House of Representatives, today, approved H.R. 1725, introduced by Reps. Mary Bono (R-Palm Springs), Darrell Issa (R-Temecula), and other Riverside County Members authorizing up to $20 million for the Rancho California Water District (RCWD) regional Integrated Resources Plan (IRP). The IRP will assess the region's demand for water and ensure sufficient supply for Southwest Riverside County through 2050.

"As Southwest Riverside County continues to grow, so do our water resource needs," said Rep. Issa. "The passage of this legislation helps keep long-term infrastructure needs on pace with growth in our community."

To bolster the region's infrastructure, the Integrated Resources Plan would include three construction projects. In an effort to increase the region's water storage capacity, the first project would construct the Vail Lake Pipeline, connecting Metropolitan Water District's aqueduct to Vail Lake. The second project would devise a water delivery system from Vail Lake to convert agricultural irrigation to raw water use, resulting in a $200 per acre-feet savings for RCWD, which will be passed on to its customers. The last initiative aims at providing a year-round source of irrigation water for local farmers by boosting recycling efforts within existing watershed for citrus, wine and avocado crops.

The IRP will maximize the beneficial reuse of recycled water within the Santa Margarita River watershed by converting agricultural demands from potable/treated water to non-potable water and will also benefit the Eastern Municipal Water District by reducing pumping costs associated with transporting recycled water.

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