Water Issues

reflected_Joshua_Tree__Kevin_Wong.jpg
Photo courtesy of Kevin Wong

Morongo Basin residents are among the most water-conscious residents in the County (and probably in the state). Every local water district has information on its web pages in support of water conservation.  California's drought has been in the news for years, and in May 2021 Governor Newsom declared new restrictions.  

In addition to tips for reducing household water use, each water district has some kind of demonstration garden to show the water conservation value of using desert natives and other drought-tolerant plants to create beautiful gardens. 

Below are links to the local Water District websites:

Bighorn Desert View Water Agency

Hi Desert Water District

Joshua Basin Water District

Twentynine Palms Water District

The Mojave Water Agency is also a critical player in water acquisition for the Morongo Basin.

The Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center in Twentynine Palms encourages water conservation on Base and provides this brochure describing its efforts and providing water conservation tips.

 

  • Featured post

    A Change in Direction for Cadiz Water Project?

    Posted by · March 31, 2023 3:14 PM
    Speaking at an water industry event at the Salton Sea near Mecca on Monday, March 27, Scott Slater, the CEO of Cadiz, Inc, the company that wants to sell water from the Cadiz aquifer for enormous financial gain, shared that the company is considering piping water "to bring water to disadvantaged communities within our reach."

    Slater also revealed efforts "to pursue a relationship with the Salton Sea Authority...and the Torres Martinez tribe, to bring water to the Salton Sea and to benefit the tribe, which would happen via an exchange." Slater also noted that the company will then "push the water north into the northern hi-desert and then into the interconnected systems of the state," via its 220-mile Northern Pipeline.

    MBCA has long been concerned about the devastating effects of the proposed Cadiz Water Project. A series of our past News posts about Cadiz plus other water-related issues we have reported on, can be found by searching "water" on our website. 
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  • Featured post

    MBCA Joins Request for Extension on Amargosa Basin Water Management Hearing

    Posted by · April 16, 2022 8:41 AM
    MBCA is among 15 organizations requesting more time to prepare for involvement in hearings concerning water management and related biological resources in the Amargosa Basin. The Basin lies within the Mojave Desert and spreads across two states and four counties, including San Bernardino County. The group recommends that Nevada Department of Water Resources engage with stakeholders to examine potential negative impacts on groundwater for rural communities and on tourism drawn to the area by this unique ecosystem.
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  • Featured post

    The Desert's Role in California's 30x30 Plan

    Posted by · February 20, 2022 5:42 PM
    MBCA joined with many non-profit environmental and conservation organizations in recently signing comment letters related to California's 30x30 land and water conservation plan. The California Natural Resources Agency published the Draft Pathways Report that will guide the state's implementation of California Governor Newsom's Executive Order N-82-20 calling for conservation of 30% of California’s land and water to be protected by 2030. The draft plan underestimates the value of the desert's carbon sequestration and inaccurately describes the desert's real borders. MBCA joined 22 other organizations in creating an Inland Desert Regional Comment Letter to provide guidance on desert issues. MBCA also joined 61 organizations in a statewide comment letter on the Draft Report.
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  • Featured post

    MBCA Asks for Action on Illegal Cannabis Grows

    Posted by · July 29, 2021 11:16 AM
    MBCA's letter to Governor Newsom outlines the growing environmental damage and safety issues accruing from the proliferation of illegal marijuana grows in the Mojave Desert and other rural areas of the state. Our request is for the Governor to convene a special session of the legislature to upgrade the current misdemeanor status in order to address the escalating problem.
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  • Featured post

    Cannabis Grows and Water Thefts

    Posted by · July 21, 2021 9:58 AM
    MBCA's Board of Directors has kept abreast of the ongoing and worsening situation of illegal cannabis grows in the Morongo Basin and nearby desert areas. In May, the Morongo Basin Municipal Advisory Council (MAC), which includes two MBCA Board members, Pat Flanagan and Steve Bardwell, passed a resolution asking that more San Bernardino County resources be provided to fight the problem. In June, the Supervisors adopted a resolution urging the state to increase penalties for illegal cannabis cultivation. A July 21 article from the Desert Sun describes the increasingly dire water theft increase across the state, mostly due to illegal cannabis grows. The article includes a quotation (highlighted) from Marina West, former MBCA Board member and general manager of the Bighorn-Desert View Water Agency.
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  • Featured post

    New Lawsuit Filed Over Cadiz Water Project

    Posted by · March 25, 2021 9:29 AM
    The Center for Biological Diversity has filed a lawsuit against the Bureau of Land Management in response to an action taken in the final days of the prior administration that would ease the path for the Cadiz Water Project. A right-of-way for the water mining scheme was granted without any public review. Read the news item by local radio KCDZ 107.7 and the press release from the Center for Biological Diversity for the latest information on this decade-long battle against draining important desert water reserves.  
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  • Featured post

    History of Water in the Morongo Basin - Desert Institute Video

    Posted by · March 14, 2021 10:20 AM
    Marina West, Manager of the Bighorn Desert View Water Agency and recently a Board member and Treasurer for MBCA, presented an illustrated virtual lecture on the "History of Water in the Morongo Basin: A Perspective on an Undervalued Resource" as a program for the Desert Institute, the educational arm of the Joshua Tree National Park Association. In this one-hour YouTube recording, Marina provides the Basin's water history in both geological and historical timeframes, with many anecdotes about the pioneers of harvesting water through the development wells in the Morongo Basin.
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  • Featured post

    EBlast August 3, 2020

    Posted by · August 04, 2020 8:01 AM
    MBCA_Sticker_Final_Transparent.png
    • Desert Wise Living Landscape Desert Tour 2020 goes virtual!
    • Petition to list yucca brevifolia as a threatened species
    • Opposition to Eagle Crest pumped storage project
    • Reject nomination of William Pendley to head BLM
    • Daggett Solar Energy project update
    • Rabbit Hemorrhagic Disease in the Morongo Basin
    • Complete the 2020 Census
    • Support MBCA through Amazon Smile
     
     
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  • Featured post

    MBCA Joins Broad Coalition Opposing Eagle Crest Pumped Storage Project

    Posted by · June 26, 2020 3:35 PM
    MBCA is one of 27 diverse non-profit groups opposing any further consideration of the Eagle Crest Pumped Storage Project in this June 23rd letter to Governor Newsom and the co-chairs of the recently created Task Force on Business and Jobs Recovery
     
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  • Featured post

    EBlast June 8, 2020

    Posted by · June 08, 2020 5:23 PM
    MBCA_Sticker_Final_Transparent.png
    • Desert Wise Living Landscape Tour 2020 goes virtual !
    • Petition to list Yucca brevifolia as a threatened species.
    • A week of Invasive Species Lunchtime Webinars.
    • Opposition to Yellow Pine Solar Project
    • Action on Eagle Crest Pumping Opposition.
    • Funding Mojave Trails Acquisition
    • Environmental Justice in Lucerne Valley.
    • Opposition to Habitat Conservation Fund Budget Trailer Bill.
    • Support for AB3030 For Land and Water Conservation.
    • Rabbit Hemorrhagic Disease found in the Morongo Basin.
    • Ruth Denison 2020 Environmental scholarship recipient.
     
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