Water Supply

Water delivered to Hi-Desert Water District (HDWD) customers comes from groundwater and is supplied from two basins, the Warren Valley Basin located in the heart of Yucca Valley running west to east and the Ames Basin located in the northern part of the District.

Protecting the Warren Valley Groundwater Basin

The main source of water supply for HDWD's service area is the Warren Valley Groundwater Basin, which spans about 27 square miles below the Town of Yucca Valley and the surrounding area. This valuable resource provides one of the least expensive water sources available and is more dependable than imported water supplies in times of drought.

Population Growth

In the 1950s, as Yucca Valley's population ballooned, more water was being taken out of the basin than was being replaced naturally through runoff and rainfall. Experts warned that the supply would become depleted if steps were not taken to stop the overdraft and in 1976 HDWD took legal action to have withdrawals from the basin regulated.

Rights to Extract Groundwater

A 1977 San Bernardino County Superior Court judgment ("Warren Valley Judgment") established rights to extract groundwater from the basin by water rights holders, including HDWD, the Yucca Water Company (which was acquired by HDWD in 1990), Blue Skies Country Club, the Institute of Mentalphysics, and 16 minimal pumpers. The court-appointed HDWD, the majority water rights holder in the basin, as Watermaster to administer and enforce the judgment and develop a means of bringing additional water to the basin.

The main component of the solution to overdraft ordered in the judgment is the 71-mile Morongo Basin Pipeline, extending from the California Aqueduct near Hesperia to the Yucca Valley area. Water deliveries via the pipeline to HDWD percolation ponds began in 1995.

Management & Monitoring

As Watermaster, HDWD performs a variety of monitoring and other management activities, including:

  • Establishing and administering groundwater storage agreements
  • Groundwater monitoring
  • Implementing the basin management plan
  • Levying groundwater production assessments
  • Maintaining a basin-wide water quality protection plan
  • Overseeing and approving all:
    • Exchanges
    • Leases of Water
    • Purchases
    • Sales
    • Transfers

Watermaster Board of Directors

Learn more about the Watermaster Board of Directors.