About the Watershed

The Santa Ana River watershed is located in Southern California, south and east of the city of Los Angeles. Located in an arid region, there is little natural perennial surface water in the watershed.

The watershed includes much of Orange County, the northwestern corner of Riverside County, the southwestern corner of San Bernardino County, and a small portion of Los Angeles County.

The Santa Ana Watershed covers 2,800 square miles and contains 4.8 million people, and the population is expected to reach 10 million by 2050. As the fastest growing region in California, watershed preservation is a key issue for the future.

The Santa Ana River Watershed faces increased threats:

1. Climate Change - reduced water supplies combined with increased water needs in the region
2. The Colorado River's continuing drought - reductions of imported supply due to upper basin entitlements and continued long-term drought
3. Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta vulnerability - reductions or loss of supply due to catastrophic levee failure or changing management practices of the Delta
4. Population growth and development - interruptions in hydrology and groundwater recharge while increasing water needs.

Click here for more Santa Ana River watershed information

One Water One Watershed - OWOW

"One Water One Watershed" (OWOW) is a new, innovative planning process within the Santa Ana Watershed. As the next generation of integrated regional watershed planning, the focus is on solving problems on a regional scale and giving all water interests a voice in the planning process.

The major problem areas are:

1. The need for linking water use with land use planning through support of resource efficient and low impact land use described in the Ahwahnee Principles
2. Support for smart irrigation controllers for large water users to improve water use efficiency
3. The need to cut residential irrigation water use by half through the use of more drought-tolerant landscape and appropriate watering application rates.

To attain the long term Year 2030 vision for the Santa Ana watershed that is drought-proofed, salt-balanced, and supports economic and environmental viability, the next generation of integrated regional water management planning must be implemented.

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