JBWD Drip Irrigation Workshop

Thanks to the tireless efforts of our Conservation Coordinator, Deb Bollinger, Joshua Basin recently hosted a drip-irrigation workshop presented by RainBird.

Held at the Joshua Tree Community Center, the event drew 38 locals eager to learn about drip irrigation and how it can help them save water. 

Attendees even got a hands-on experience of putting the devices together.

The event was so successful that we're already thinking about a repeat!

What is Ordinance 97?

Last month I talked about the Court's ruling on the wells drilled by Dr. Robert Ellis. This spurred a request for more information on Ordinance 97.


This ordinance was adopted under authority of state law AB3030 to manage and protect the District's ground water. It adopts rules and regulations to implement and enforce Joshua Basin Water District's Ground Water Management Plan and includes the following major provisions:

1)      Regulates the construction, abandonment, and destruction of wells

a.    Requires permits for all well construction and destruction.

b.    Prohibits new wells over 25gpm* capacity within ¼ mile of an existing well without a hydrology report. That report must demonstrate that the new well will not have an adverse effect upon any existing  wells within the ¼ mile, or on a recharge area.

c.    Requires a well completion report after construction or destruction of a well.

d.    Requires operator to permit the District to install, operate, access and maintain, at District expense, a water flow meter on each well.

2)      Identifies recharge protection and wellhead protection areas

3)     Regulates contaminated ground water migration (through regulation of well demolition)

4)     Mitigates overdraft by prohibiting water exportation or transfer to another parcel other than where the well is located without approval of JBWD

5)     Monitors ground water levels, storage, and quality

*Gallons per minute

JBWD wins judgment in Robert Ellis case

Joshua Tree, CA.   Today Judge Frank Gafkowski, Jr., handed down a 'Statement of Decision' in what has been a long-standing dispute  between the Joshua Basin Water District (JBWD)  and  land owner, Dr. Robert Ellis, over the District’s monitoring rights of the community’s sole water source. Based on an ordinance passed in 1997, the judicial ruling onThursday clarifies the steps required for Ellis to drill and maintain his own private wells that tap into the Joshua Basin Aquifer. Ellis accesses Joshua Tree’s aquifer through four of his five wells. 

According to the ruling, based on the Ordinance and state law, Ellis must 

1. Obtain permits for each of his four operational wells from the JBWD authority
2. Allow meters to be attached to his wells by JBWD at the district’s expense
3. Allow monitoring of the water meters by JBWD and at the district’s expense
4. Allow the JBWD to take routine water samples for quality assurance testing
5. Allow the water district to have unhampered access to the wells during business hours under ordinance number 97-1.

Judge Gafkowski prefaced his ruling by noting, “It is common knowledge that the Joshua Basin Aquifer is in overdraft.”   He then stated,  “This is not a Taking Case” (a case of eminent domain) but “an effort to impose a permissible restriction on development.”  

Simply stated, this means that citizens may certainly own a private well for personal consumption but with 'a condition of permissible use.'   

By State law this is granted through the Ground Water Management Plan authority held by the Joshua Basin Water District as the stewards of their community’s water supply.  

It is the District's responsibility to maintain the underground aquifer and to monitor the water levels and its water quality for public safety.  This 'permit process' allows the Joshua Basin Water District to ensure that the ground water is properly managed for the short term and long term benefit of the community’s greater water supply while still respecting landowners’ water rights.

Ellis first challenged the District’s authority to monitor his wells in 2004.  According to District officials, these were the first private wells known by the District to be drilled after the 1997 Ordinance.  

They came to the District’s attention when Ellis announced  plans to develop a golf course resort on Sunfair Road in Joshua Tree.  Based on the well driller’s reports, the four completed wells would have the capacity to pump as much water as is used by the entire Joshua Basin Water District, potentially forcing a change in the way the District manages the aquifer. 

The District does not restrict the amount of water that can be “beneficially used” by Ellis on his property (not wasted), but for planning purposes, needs to know how much water is pumped out of the aquifer. 

Why recharge Joshua Tree's aquifer now?

Joshua Basin Water District (JBWD) covers 96 square miles. The district has 4500 active meters for about 8500 residents. 

Joshua Tree’s sole source of water comes from an underground aquifer that dates back to the Ice Age. 

While Joshua Tree residents are among the lowest water users in the state, every day JBWD pumps out over 1 ½ million gallons to serve its customers.

Joshua Basin’s water table is dropping about a foot a year. What rain water we do get is claimed by plants and evaporation.

The only water going back into the aquifer is septage from septic tanks. Septage increases nitrates. 

USGS said recently that the rising level of nitrates in our water is a concern. If we do not take action, in the future Joshua Tree’s water may need expensive treatment to meet drinking water standards. 

By recharging our aquifer now, we will not only offset nitrates, but also ensure the long-term reliability of our water supply.

Joshua Tree voters have approved recharge twice. In 1990 they voted in favor of the bond measure to build the Morongo pipeline. 

We have invested over $10 million in that pipeline so far and have yet to receive any water.

Most of the cost of extending the pipeline into Joshua Tree will come from grant money. The remainder is money that JBWD has invested as part of the required match funding.