San Bernardino Valley is one of five members of the Santa Ana Watershed Project Authority (SAWPA). SAWPA serves as a forum roundtable for resolving inter-agency conflicts, addressing regional water issues, and supporting the development of long-term integrated water resource planning through multi-agency agreements and partnerships within the Santa Ana River Watershed.

The five SAWPA member agencies are Eastern Municipal Water District, Inland Empire Utilities Agency, Orange County Water District, San Bernardino Valley Municipal Water District and Western Municipal Water District.

Some of the efforts that SAWPA has supported include:

• the Basin Monitoring Program Task Force
• the Lake Elsinore and Canyon Lake TMDL Task Force
• the Santa Ana Sucker Conservation Team
• the Stormwater Quality Standards Task Force
• the Forest First Program
• the Middle Santa Ana River TMDL Task Force

SAWPA is the state-approved Regional Water Management group for the Santa Ana River Watershed. The One Water One Watershed Program, facilitated by SAWPA, brings together watershed community and agency members to plan for and implement projects towards a more sustainable future. This integrated approach was the template for the statewide Integrated Regional Water Management Program, funded by the voters and administered by CA Department of Water Resources.