Company Profile
San Gorgonio Pass Water Agency
Company Overview
The Agency is one of 29 State Water Contractors. As a Contractor, the Agency is responsible for paying its share of the debt service on the State Water Project. While most of this construction occurred in the 1960’s and 1970’s, it is still going on today with both capital projects and major O&M (operation and maintenance) projects under construction at any given time. Each contractor is responsible for the importation of water from Lake Oroville and the Sacramento – San Joaquin Delta through the State Water Project into its service area. The East Branch Extension, the pipeline that brings State Project Water into the Agency’s service area, was completed in 2003. The Agency sells this water to local water retailers to reduce local groundwater overdraft. Currently, the Agency is selling water to the Yucaipa Valley Water District (the Calimesa area), the Beaumont Cherry Valley Water District (Beaumont and Cherry Valley), and the City of Banning.
Company History
The San Gorgonio Pass Water Agency Act was passed in 1961 by the California State Legislature. The Act created the Agency and defined its powers. The Agency’s service area of approximately 225 square miles is located in Riverside County and extends from Calimesa to Cabazon. The service area includes the incorporated cities of Calimesa, Beaumont, and Banning, and the communities of Cherry Valley, Cabazon, and the Banning Bench.
The Agency, one of 29 State Water Contractors, purchases water from the State of California and sells it to local retail water agencies. Water is imported into the service area by the California Aqueduct. Click here to learn more about the State Water Project. The final link of the State Water Project to the Pass region, the East Branch Extension, was completed in 2003. Phase 2 of the East Branch Extension is expected to be completed by 2017. Phase 2 will bring the capacity of the Extension to 17,300 acre-feet, which is the Agency’s official allotment of State Water Project (SWP); 17,300 acre-feet of water is enough to supply approximately 35,000 families each year.