LATimes: Tribe fights Coachella Valley water agencies for aquifer rights

By Matt Stevens
March 31, 2015, 4:00 a.m.

In drought-ravaged California, the vast freshwater aquifer beneath the Coachella Valley is a rare bright spot.

The U.S. Geological Survey once tried to measure how much water it held but gave up because the supply was so plentiful.

But there is growing concern by some that local water agencies are drawing too much out of the aquifer, which supplies water for more than 260,000 people. The two water providers that control the aquifer, the Coachella Valley Water District and the Desert Water Agency, acknowledge that they have drawn down the water supply but say they replace some of it with water from the Colorado River.

That's not enough for some critics, including leaders of an Indian tribe that is now suing to wrestle water rights from the districts.

It's one of several legal disputes over water being fought across California, fueled by a drought that is making groundwater a more precious resource than ever.

Read the full review at L.A. Times

Posted March 31, 2015, 4:49 PM PST