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
- October 8, 2020 Public Workshop Presentation
- December 10, 2020 Public Hearing Presentation
- Resolution
- Documents in Spanish | Documentos en Español
- 2023 Triennial Review
Amendments Under Development
- Use Attainability Analysis to Modify Beneficial Uses in the Salton Sea
This amendment will review beneficial uses for the Salton Sea to modify the habitat beneficial use from Warm Freshwater Habitat to the Inland Saline Water Habitat. Documents available to view are below.
- Tribal Beneficial Uses, Statewide Mercury Provisions, and Administrative Updates Basin Plan Amendment
This amendment incorporates Tribal Beneficial Uses definitions, the Statewide Mercury Provisions, and other administrative updates into the Basin Plan. This amendment is non-regulatory as all plans and policies are currently in effect after State Board adoption. The administrative changes are updates to Salton Sea information, including already delineated groundwater basins into the text, and revising formatting issues.
Available Documents
Recently Approved Amendments
- Basin Plan Amendment to Revise the Septic Tank Prohibition for the Town of Yucca Valley – San Bernardino County
This amendment revises the prohibition of discharges from individual disposal systems in the Town of Yucca Valley (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 onsite disposal systems in three phases. 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 proposed additional changes 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, 2021. The Amendment is now in effect as of December 5, 2022 when the Office of Administrative Law reviewed the associated administrative record and issued a Notice of Approval of Regulatory Action.
Available Documents
- March 23, 2021 Notice of Opportunity to Comment, Public Workshop, and Public Hearing
- Staff Report
- Attachment 1: Revised Prohibition Map
- Attachment 2: New Deferred Parcels
- Attachment 3: Parcels No Longer Deferred
- Attachment 4: CEQA Addendum
- Adopted Regional Water Board Resolution
- September 28, 2021
- Notice of Public Hearing and Opportunity to Comment - No Comments Received
- State Water Board Meeting Agenda for December 7-8, 2021
- Adopted State Water Board Resolution (available upon request)
- Minor Corrections Memorandum
- Office of Administrative Law Notice of Approval of Regulatory Action December 5, 2023 (copy available upon request)
- Final Amendment Text with corrections
- 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
State Water Board Approval
Approved Basin Plan Amendments Reflected in the Basin Plan
- 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.ca.gov
Phone: (760) 340-4521
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Quick Links
Basin Plan
- Entire Basin Plan - Bookmarked by chapters, sections and paragraphs
- Appendix: Maps
