Basin Planning

About The Basin Plan

The Water Quality Control Plan for the Colorado River Basin (Basin Plan) is designed to preserve and enhance water quality in the Region and to protect the beneficial uses of all regional waters for the benefit of present and future generations. The Basin Plan contains the Region’s beneficial uses for ground and surface waters, water quality objectives to protect beneficial uses, and implementation programs to achieve water quality objectives. The Basin Plan fulfills state and federal statutory requirements for water quality planning, thereby preserving and protecting ground and surface waters of the Colorado River Basin Region.

Triennial Review

In accordance with state and federal laws, the Regional Water Board is obligated to keep the Region’s Basin Plan current and accurate via periodic review and to update it as appropriate. States are required to review their water quality standards at least once every three years – a process known as “triennial review” [33 U.S. Code Section 1313(c)]. The triennial review may result in amendments to the Basin Plan over the course of the three-year review cycle. Materials from the current Triennial Review cycle are provided below. For information and materials concerning preceding Triennial Reviews, please reach out to the program manager.

• 2020 Triennial Review
  • Timeline
  • April 7, 2020 Notice of Opportunity to Comment
  • September 25, 2020 Notice of Opportunity to Comment, Public Workshop, and Public Hearing
  • Staff Report
    • Appendix A: First Response to Comments
    • Appendix B: 2020 Triennial Review List with descriptions
    • Appendix C: 2020 Triennial Review List Prioritization Ranking
    • Appendix D: Second Response to Comments
  • October 8, 2020 Public Workshop Presentation
  • December 10, 2020 Public Hearing Presentation
  • Resolution
  • Documents in Spanish | Documentos en Español
    • 25 de Septiembre de 2020 Aviso de Periodo Para Comentarios, Taller, y Audiencia Públicos
    • Lista del Repaso Trienal
    • Lista del Repaso Trienal del 2020 con las descripciones de los proyectos
      
    • Presentación de la audiencia pública del 10 de diciembre de 2020
      

Amendments Under Development

• Basin Plan Amendment to Revise the Septic Tank Prohibition for the Town of Yucca Valley – San Bernardino County

  The Basin Plan currently includes a septic tank discharge prohibition for the Town of Yucca Valley in areas that overlie the Warren Valley Groundwater Subbasin (Prohibition) in Chapter 4, Section II.H.2.iii. The Basin Plan amendment adopting the original Prohibition went into effect on April 9, 2012. The Prohibition and a subsequent revision thereto required the Hi-Desert Water District (HDWD) to construct a centralized sewage collection system (collection system) and wastewater treatment and reclamation facility (WRF), and prohibited wastewater discharges from septic tanks in three phases as the collection system and WRF got constructed. Financial, legal, economic, and technical issues have caused delays in the construction of the collection system in Phase 1, and design and construction of the collection system for Phases 2 and 3. HDWD requested that the Colorado River Basin Water Board revise the Prohibition to combine Phases 2 and 3 into a single Phase 2, extend the overall deadlines for the Prohibition, and identify additional deferred parcels. Colorado River Basin Water Board staff also identified other changes that needed to be made to the Prohibition for consistency, clarity, and accuracy, to protect water quality, and to streamline the requirements, where possible, for HDWD and the property owners. The Amendment was adopted by the Colorado River Basin Water Board on June 15, 2021 under Resolution R7-2021-0028, and approved by the State Water Resources Control Board on December 7, 2022. The Amendment and associated administrative record will now be submitted for review and approval to the Office of Administrative Law (OAL). The Amendment will go into effect upon approval by OAL.

  Regional Water Board Review

  • March 23, 2021 Notice of Opportunity to Comment, Public Workshop, and Public Hearing
    • Response to Comments
  • Staff Report
    • Attachment 1: Revised Prohibition Map
    • Attachment 2: New Deferred Parcels
    • Attachment 3: Parcels No Longer Deferred
    • Attachment 4: CEQA Addendum

  • Resolution and Amendment

  State Water Board Review

  • Notice of Public Hearing and Opportunity to Comment /// No Comments Received
  • State Water Board Meeting Agenda for December 7-8, 2021
• Basin Plan Amendment to Update Bacteria Water Quality Objectives for Waters Designated for Water Contact Recreation

  This is a non-regulatory update of the Basin Plan to incorporate State Water Board’s statewide bacteria objectives for coastal and non-coastal waters designated for water contact recreation (REC I). The amendment will update the numeric bacteria water quality objectives associated with REC I beneficial use to be consistent with the statewide objectives, which are already in effect. The amendment will also make other administrative, non-regulatory changes, including adding a new beneficial use definition for limited contact recreation (LREC I), and consolidating the site-specific objectives for the Colorado River. The Regional Water Board adopted Resolution R7-2020-0028 on September 3, 2020 approving the amendment. The State Water Board adopted Resolution No. 2021-0008 on March 16, 2021 approving the amendment. The Basin Plan Amendment was approved by OAL on May 10, 2022. Text to be included in the Basin Plan is in Attachment A of Resolution R7-2020-0028 linked below.

  Regional Water Board Approval

  • Notice of Public Hearing and Opportunity to Comment
  • Staff Report
  • Resolution R7-2020-0028

  State Water Board Approval

  • Notice of Public Hearing and Opportunity to Comment /// No comments received
  • State Water Board Meeting Agenda for March 16-17, 2021
  • Agenda Item
  • Draft Resolution
  • OAL Concise Summary

Fully Approved Amendments

• Amendments approved in 2012-2020

  The following amendments are fully reflected in the Basin Plan edition posted on this page. For full amendment text and materials related to the development of each amendment, please contact the program manager.”

  • Editorial Changes Updating Language and Graphics Related to the Salton Sea and Correcting General Errors, effective January 8, 2019
  • Revision of the Septic Tank Discharge Prohibition in the Town of Yucca Valley, effective January 30, 2017
  • Onsite Wastewater Treatment System Implementation Program, effective March 11, 2014
  • Corrections and Updates to Language, Tables and Figures, effective November 13, 2012
  • Revision of Indicator Bacteria for a 17-Mile Reach of the Coachella Valley Storm Water Channel, effective August 8, 2012
  • Prohibition of Septic Tank Discharges in the Town of Yucca Valley, effective April 9, 2012

Program Manager

Emma McCorkle, Senior Environmental Scientist
Email: Emma.McCorkle@waterboards
Phone: (760) 340-4521