Five Water Agencies Complete $169 Million Regional Water Reliability Program

RIVERSIDE — After more than a decade of collaboration, five Southern California water agencies are celebrating the completion of a $169 million regional water management program. The program is designed to strengthen water supply reliability, restore critical habitat throughout the Santa Ana River watershed, and, on the brink of what is anticipated to be the most significant El Niño winter in recent history, optimize saving water in years of plenty to prepare for years of drought.

The Santa Ana River Conservation and Conjunctive Use Program (SARCCUP) brings together Eastern Municipal Water District (EMWD), Inland Empire Utilities Agency (IEUA), Orange County Water District (OCWD), San Bernardino Valley Municipal Water District (SBVMWD) and Western Municipal Water District (Western Water). Together, the agencies developed a regional approach to managing water resources across Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties.

The approximately $169 million program combines $55 million in Proposition 84 funding through the One Water One Watershed grant from the State of California’s Department of Water Resources with approximately $114 million in local and additional cost share. The Santa Ana Watershed Project Authority (SAWPA), a joint powers authority comprising the five agencies, coordinated regional program components and administered the grant funding.

Rather than developing separate solutions, the agencies worked across jurisdictional boundaries to coordinate groundwater storage, infrastructure, and operations. The result is a regional framework that allows participating agencies to make better use of available water supplies through storage, recovery, and exchanges across the watershed.

“DWR is proud to support this innovative partnership, which helps improve regional water reliability, strengthen drought resilience, and replenish groundwater supplies for future generations across California,” said Tom Gibson, Director of the California Department of Water Resources. “This program demonstrates what can be achieved when local agencies work together to protect wildlife, restore critical habitat, and safeguard water supplies for millions of Californians.”

A central component of SARCCUP is groundwater banking, which allows water to be stored underground when supplies are plentiful and recovered during droughts. Through investments in recharge facilities, wells, pipelines, pump stations, and regional connections, the program supports approximately 137,000 acre-feet of potential groundwater storage across six basins, depending on water availability and operating conditions.

For Western Water, SARCCUP included infrastructure investments that strengthen connections between regional water systems and improve the flexibility to move and manage water.

“SARCCUP has allowed Western Water to make strategic investments in infrastructure that strengthen our regional connections and give us greater flexibility to move and manage water,” said Craig Miller, General Manager of Western Water. “These investments help us make better use of available supplies and provide lasting value to our customers and the region.”

EMWD’s participation included investments in groundwater replenishment facilities, extraction wells, and pipelines to expand regional storage and recovery capabilities.

“Because of this partnership, EMWD was able to utilize $13 million in grant funding to provide our region with a more reliable and cost-effective water supply future,” said Joe Mouawad, General Manager of EMWD. “As California continues to face a changing climate, it is critical that our agencies adapt our infrastructure to support groundwater sustainability. The new groundwater replenishment facility, wells, and pipelines that resulted from this collaborative effort will help create a more sustainable future for our region.”

OCWD’s portion of the SARCCUP program includes 36,000 acre-feet of groundwater banking capacity in the Orange County Groundwater Basin and five new production wells to expand the ability to recover stored water during droughts.

“SARCCUP demonstrates the value of regional partnerships in making better use of our water supplies,” says John Kennedy, General Manager of OCWD. “By storing water underground when it is plentiful, we can draw on those reserves during droughts when other supplies are limited. OCWD is contributing 36,000 acre-feet of groundwater banking capacity and helping conserve water through the removal of invasive, water-intensive vegetation along the Santa Ana River. These investments strengthen water supply reliability throughout the watershed and help us prepare for future droughts.”

Beyond water infrastructure, SARCCUP supported environmental restoration and water-use-efficiency projects throughout the watershed. The program funded the removal of approximately 685 acres of invasive Arundo vegetation and restoration of approximately 3.5 miles of streams and waterways, improving habitat for native species, including the federally protected Santa Ana sucker.

“The restoration of Anza Creek and Hidden Valley Creek shows what we can accomplish when we work together,” said Heather Dyer, CEO / General Manager of SBVMWD. “Through SARCCUP, we invested approximately $5 million to restore these important tributaries to the Santa Ana River, improving habitat for the federally protected Santa Ana Sucker and other native species. These projects demonstrate how we can protect and restore our natural resources while continuing to provide a reliable water supply for our communities.”

The effort required years of coordination on planning, funding, environmental review, and agreements governing how water could be stored, recovered, and exchanged across agency boundaries. IEUA served as lead agency for the program’s Environmental Impact Report.

“This program reminds us that no single agency can drought-proof Southern California alone,” says Kevin Alexander, General Manager of IEUA. “Together, we can. SAWPA brought regional partners together for SARCCUP to show what that looks like in practice.”

The program also involved regional partners, including the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, Municipal Water District of Orange County, Orange County Coastkeeper, Mesa Water District, East Orange County Water District, the City of Fullerton, the City of Tustin, the City of Orange, and others.

“After years of working together, it is amazing to see how these projects are not only benefiting local areas, but the entire watershed,” says Karen Williams, General Manager of SAWPA. “From restoring habitats of endangered species, ridding our watershed of harmful invasive species that impact water supply, and creating infrastructure that helps us store water in years of plenty for future years of drought, SARCCUP will benefit many generations to come in the Santa Ana Watershed.”

The participating agencies celebrated the completion of SARCCUP at a regional ribbon-cutting ceremony on Monday, November 9, 2026, at the Riverside Art Museum in Riverside, California. Photos and videos from the event, along with photos of the projects, are available upon request by emailing media contact Emily Fuentes at efuentes@sawpa.gov, and ongoing resources will be available at sawpa.gov/SARCCUP.

Five Water Agencies Complete $169 Million Regional Water Reliability Program

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