California lawmakers introduce bill to ratify Agua Caliente Tribe water rights settlement
U.S. Senators Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff, both Democrats from California, have introduced legislation to approve a water rights settlement agreement involving the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians, the federal government, the Coachella Valley Water District, and the Desert Water Agency. … The proposed Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians Water Rights Settlement Act would ratify an agreement finalized in May 2025 that resolves long-running disputes over the tribe’s water rights in the Coachella Valley. … Under the settlement, the legislation would confirm the tribe’s federally reserved water right of up to 20,000 acre-feet per year of groundwater from the Indio Subbasin, along with surface water rights in Tahquitz Creek, Andreas Creek, and Whitewater Ranch.
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