A newly completed canal renovation project will support water conservation, provide new water storage, and save ratepayers millions of dollars thanks to a partnership between the Coachella Valley Water District, the San Diego County Water Authority and the San Luis Rey River Indian Water Authority.
The Coachella Mid-Canal Storage Project, completed this summer, made critical upgrades to the 123-mile Coachella Canal. The canal provides Colorado River water to the Coachella Valley and, under landmark water conservation agreements, the San Diego region.
The $7.5 million project was funded jointly by the three water agencies through a low-interest loan from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, which was part of the Biden Administration’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law allocations to relieve drought in the West. 
“There is a strong spirit of collaboration within the region for efforts to save water and reduce expenses,” said Jim Barrett, CVWD general manager. “The Mid-Canal Storage Project significantly reduces maintenance costs for all parties, and the additional storage created by this project helps increase CVWD’s canal operational flexibility and optimizes water deliveries.”
Construction included removing concrete lining in a 4.9-mile section of the canal where high clay content in the soil and water pressure in the canal caused extensive cracks that allowed water to seep through. Those cracks increased annual repair costs and undermined the original intent of lining the canal to conserve Colorado River water.
The project, funded by the County Water Authority and the Indian Water Authority, will reduce future costs related to repairing the cracked concrete. For the County Water Authority, the project will save more than $10 million in long-term repair costs; the Indian Water Authority will save more than $2 million.
In addition, the project created a 728-acre-foot in-line storage facility for the Coachella Valley, which will improve the flow of water and provide the water district with greater flexibility in managing deliveries.
The Coachella Canal was built between 1938 and 1948 to deliver Colorado River water to serve the Coachella Valley’s agriculture customers and reduce demand on the local groundwater basin.
As part of the 2003 Quantification Settlement Agreement, the County Water Authority and the Indian Water Authority are allocated Colorado River water through the San Diego region’s investment in concrete lining sections of the Coachella Canal and the All-American Canal.
“Our region’s investment in conserved Colorado River water has served us well, and these canal lining projects provide our lowest cost water,” said County Water Authority General Manager Dan Denham. “In an era of tight budgets, this repair project highlights how we work collaboratively with partners to improve both reliability and affordability through strategic cost-saving measures.”
San Luis Rey River Indian Water Authority President Bo Mazzetti added of the project, “We are proud to work with our partners towards cost-saving measures.”
The Coachella Canal Lining Project, completed in 2008, lined a 36-mile section of the canal. The All-American Canal Lining Project, completed in 2010, lined a 23-mile section of that canal, which extends 83 miles from the Colorado River into the Imperial Valley.
Lining sections of both canals conserve 93,700 acre-feet of water annually. The San Diego region receives 77,700 acre-feet of that conserved water each year. The Indian Water Authority, with its settlement partners under the San Luis Rey Indian Water Rights Settlement, receives 16,000 acre-feet annually. Delivered to the San Diego region through the Colorado River Aqueduct, the canal lining supplies will continue through 2112 when the allocation agreement ends.
