Quantification Settlement Agreement

The Quantification Settlement Agreement for the Colorado River was completed in October 2003. This historic agreement provides California the means to implement water transfers and supply programs that will allow California to live within the state's 4.4 million acre-foot basic annual apportionment of Colorado River water.

The QSA also commits the state to a restoration path for the environmentally sensitive Salton Sea and provides full mitigation for these water supply programs. The QSA assures California up to 75 years of stability in its Colorado River water supplies.

WATER TRANSFERS 2003-2021

The Parties

• San Diego County Water Authority
• Coachella Valley Water District (CVWD)
• Imperial Irrigation District (IID)
• Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD)
• State of California
• U.S. Department of the Interior

Statewide Benefits

1. Reduces California's over-dependence on Colorado River — the QSA enables California to reduce its historic over-dependence on the Colorado River to its 4.4 million acre-foot basic annual apportionment through voluntary agriculture-to-urban water transfers and other water supply programs.

2. Salton Sea Restoration — As part of the QSA legislation enacted in October 2003, the state completed a programmatic environmental impact report to identify a preferred alternative and funding plan for restoring the Salton Sea in June 2007. The Department of Water Resources received $20 million of Prop. 50 funds from the State Water Resources Control Board to perform the PEIR and related work. Under the QSA- related legislation, an innovative restoration funding program may be implemented in which the state of California purchases water from the Imperial Irrigation District for sale to the Metropolitan Water District, generating funds for the restoration program.

3. Voluntary agricultural transfers provide more than 30 million acre-feet for urban use — Over the life of the QSA programs, more than 30 million acre-feet moves from primarily agricultural use to primarily urban use.

Imperial Valley Outreach Office
Click here to contact the Water Authority's Imperial Valley Outreach Office
 

QSA Documents in PDF
 

QSA Fact Sheet

Quantification Settlement Agreement October 10, 2003

Agreements to which the San Diego County Water Authority are signatories include:

• Fifth Amendment to Agreement Between Imperial Irrigation District and San Diego County Water Authority for Transfer of Conserved
   
• Revised Fourth Amendment to Agreement Between Imperial Irrigation District and San Diego County Water Authority for Transfer of Conserved Water
   
• QSA Joint Powers Authority Creation and Funding Agreement Among the California Department of Fish and Game, Coachella Valley Water District, IID, and SDCWA
   
• Environmental Cost Sharing, Funding and Habitat Conservation Plan Development Agreement Among CVWD, IID, and SDCWA
   
• Conservation Agreement Among the Bureau of Reclamation, IID, CVWD, and SDCWA
   
• Funding Agreement Among the Bureau of Reclamation, MWD and SDCWA Regarding Implementation of Conservation and Mitigation Measures Identified in the USFWS Biological Opinion Dated January 12, 2001, “For Interim Surplus Criteria, Secretarial Implementation Agreements, and Conservation Measures on the Lower Colorado River, Lake Mead to the Southerly International Boundary Arizona, California and Nevada 
   
• Agreement Between MWD and SDCWA for the Allocation of the Benefit of the Biological Opinion
   
• Amended and Restated Agreement Between MWD and SDCWA for the Exchange of Water
   
• Colorado River Water Delivery Agreement Between the United States Secretary of the Interior, CVWD, IID, MWD, and SDCWA
   
• Agreement for the Conveyance of Water Among SDCWA, San Luis Rey Settlement Parties and United States
   
• Allocation Agreement Among United States, MWD, CVWD, IID, SDCWA, the La Jolla, Pala, Pauma, Rincon, and San Pasqual Bands of Mission Indians, the San Luis Rey River Authority, the City of Escondido, and Vista Irrigation District