The tribe went out of its way to ask for meetings to have discussions about how to stop the overdraft of the aquifer underlying the Coachella Valley, and the increased pollution of the water. Both the DWA and the Coachella Valley Water District (CVWD) wrote us back, essentially telling us to pound sand. The water agencies can’t pretend to be surprised by the tribe filing suit. But don’t just take my word for it, read the correspondence for yourselves at www.coachellacleanwater.org. The tribe’s correspondence with the water districts on these issues, spanning the past two decades, is also linked at that website.

The tribe filed this lawsuit to protect the water for all residents of the Coachella Valley. The sad truth is there are issues that need to be fixed. The local water supply is being depleted and degraded due to decades of failed water management by the CVWD and DWA. The valley’s water has been mismanaged into a perpetual state of overdraft, and pollutants are being introduced at alarming levels.