Basin Planning

About The Basin Plan

The Colorado River Basin Water Quality Control Plan (Basin Plan) provides definitive guidelines and gives direction to the Regional Water Board for preserving and protecting water quality within the Colorado River Basin Region. 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.

Amendments Under Development

  • Basin Plan Amendment to Make Editorial Changes that Update Language and Graphics Related to the Salton Sea and Correct General Errors

      This non-regulatory Amendment proposes an administrative update of the Basin Plan, which addresses the 2017 Triennial Review Item 13, “Update Salton Sea Discussion and Associated Information,” and Item 14, “Correct General Errors and Outdated or Obsolete Information.” A public hearing was held before the Regional Water Board on June 14, 2018 and the Resolution R7-2018-0018 to approve the Amendment was adopted with errata. This Amendment must be approved by the State Water Board before going into effect. Please refer to the documents posted below for more information.

      Regional Water Board Approval

      State Water Board Approval

      Contacts

Recent Amendments Approved by the Office of Administrative Law

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Basin Plan Documents

Foreword
Table of Contents
Chapter 1 - Introduction
Chapter 2 - Beneficial Uses
Chapter 3 - Water Quality Objectives
Chapter 4 - Implementation
Chapter 5 - Plans, Policies and Issues
Chapter 6 - Surveillance, Monitoring and Water Quality Assessment
Maps
Entire Basin Plan - Bookmarked by chapters, sections and paragraphs
Note about the Basin Plan August 2017 Edition

Basin Plan Cover