About Us

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ABOUT THE FENNER VALLEY WATER AUTHORITY

Formed in 2014, the Fenner Valley Water Authority is a joint powers authority comprised of Fenner Gap Mutual Water Company, a non-profit California mutual water company consisting of water providers participating in the Cadiz Water Project (among other entities), Santa Margarita Water District (SMWD), the lead agency of the Project’s California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) process, and San Bernardino County. The County joined the Authority as an ex-officio member in 2023. The Authority is led by a three person Board of Directors, appointed by the participating agencies.. SMWD is the managing member of the FVWA and is responsible for the day-to-day operation of the Project.

The Authority oversees the design, construction, operation, and maintenance of project facilities, including the first-ever conversion of a natural gas pipeline to carry water and provide interconnection with critical water storage and infrastructure facilities in the region. In addition, the Authority administers the implementation of the Project’s groundwater management, monitoring and mitigation plan (“GM3P”) in coordination with SMWD, the County and Fenner Gap.

MISSION

It is the mission of the Fenner Valley Water Authority to provide a new reliable water supply to Southern California and protect the desert’s natural resources by carefully managing the groundwater basin that is part of a 1,300-square-mile watershed in eastern San Bernardino County.

The total quantity of groundwater to be recovered and conveyed to Project participants will not exceed a long-term annual average of 50,000 acre-feet per year. The aquifer system at the Water Project area also offers storage capacity of over one million acre-feet allowing Project participants to carry-over their annual supply and store it in the aquifer system from year to year.