California relies on an elaborate water supply and storage system to supply water to the entire state, especially Southern California and its arid desert communities. About 75% of annual precipitation falls north of Sacramento, while most of the demand is to the south. The seven major water and infrastructure systems capture and transport water to the drier regions of the state. Local water agencies, including the Coachella Valley Water District, play an important role in providing water to communities, farms and businesses. The California State Water Project does not directly provide this water to the Coachella Valley through its infrastructure; rather, desert communities rely on critical state and local agreements to supplement and replenish the Coachella Valley aquifer with water from the Colorado River via the Coachella Branch of the All-American Canal. A major document signed in 2003, known as the Quantification Settlement Agreement (QSA), increased water flows to San Diego and the Coachella Valley by decreasing flows to farms in Imperial County. The QSA is an environmental document issued under the National Environmental Protection Act and the California Environmental Quality Act and was prepared in cooperation with the Department of Water Resources and the U.S. Water Service. fishing and wildlife. This agreement empowers California to implement water transfer programs with full mitigation of impacts on biological resources. These programs allow the state to stay within limits and reduce its reliance on the annual distribution of 4.4 million acre-feet of water from the Colorado River. The QSA commits the state to continuing environmental analysis and restoration of the Salton Sea, which...... middle of paper ......groundwater overdraft situation. Other proposals include mandatory watering restrictions, "smart growth" policies include denying some new large development proposals and requiring some to use filtered Colorado River water instead of further depleting our aquifer by overdraft pumping. The jury is still out, but the Aqua Calienta Indian tribe has a good chance of winning its case. If they do, we will be obligated to “repay” the tribe and our other “water bank” obligations with an abundance of clean water from our aquifer. The Coachella Valley Water District's failure to act quickly to implement effective water management will require more attention to be paid to the monitoring and management of this water resource. Valley residents, permanent and seasonal, avian and non-avian, depend on this valuable water resource from the Coachella Valley Aquifer..