Irrigated Lands Programs
Water Quality Compliance for Production Agriculture
About Our Irrigated Lands Programs
California’s Regional Water Quality Control Boards require many irrigated agricultural operations to comply with water quality regulations designed to protect surface water and groundwater. In many areas of the state, farmers and ranchers meet these requirements by participating in an approved Irrigated Lands Group or Coalition.
These groups help agricultural producers comply with Regional Board requirements by coordinating monitoring, reporting, outreach, and education on behalf of enrolled members. Participation in an approved coalition or third-party group can help simplify the compliance process for growers while keeping costs more manageable through a shared program structure.
Riverside County Farm Bureau works with local irrigated lands groups and coalitions to help keep agricultural producers informed and connected to the resources they need.
The Coachella Valley Irrigated Lands Coalition, also known as CVILC, is a non-profit organization formed to assist irrigated agricultural operations in the Coachella Valley with compliance under the Colorado River Basin Regional Water Quality Control Board’s irrigated lands regulatory program.
CVILC works on behalf of its members to coordinate required monitoring, reporting, education, and communication with the Regional Board. The coalition works to provides information to farmers in understanding their regulatory responsibilities.
For more information about CVILC, please visit the CVILC website www.cvilc.org.
Upper Santa Margarita Irrigated Lands Group
The Upper Santa Margarita Irrigated Lands Group, also known as USMILG, was formed to assist agricultural producers within the San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board’s jurisdiction with compliance under the region’s irrigated lands regulatory requirements.
The San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board adopted General Order No. R9-2016-0004 for commercial irrigated agricultural operations. This order applies to production agriculture. Operations with only horses or confined animals may not be subject to this specific production agriculture requirement.
USMILG is a nonprofit organization originally formed in 2010 and later reactivated to serve as an approved third-party group for growers in the Upper Santa Margarita watershed area. Under the previous Agricultural Waiver program, USMILG coordinated testing and reporting for its members. Today, the group continues to provide a local compliance option for eligible agricultural operations.
USMILG members include growers from areas such as Winchester, De Luz, Anza, and surrounding agricultural communities. By working together as a group, members can help share the costs of administration, testing, reporting, and other program requirements.
USMILG is aligned with Riverside County Farm Bureau, and Farm Bureau membership is required to participate in the group. The USMILG Board is made up of longtime Riverside County growers who understand the needs and challenges of local agriculture.
Navigating regulatory requirements can be challenging, and the goal of these irrigated lands groups is to help make the process more manageable for local growers.
For more information about the Upper Santa Margarita Irrigated Lands Group, click the button below.
How To Enroll - USMILG
You may have heard by now that the San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board is requiring all agricultural operations within its jurisdiction to abide by their General Order #R9-2016-004. This order is for production agriculture only. If you have only horses or confined animals you can ignore this notice.
The Upper Santa Margarita Irrigated Lands Group is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that was formed in 2010 that has been reactivated and approved for third party group status with the regional board. Previously USMILG conducted all of the testing and reporting for its members during the previous Agricultural Waiver #4. USMILG is aligned with the Riverside County Farm Bureau, the largest farm organization in the county and a Farm Bureau membership will be required to join USMILG. Our Board is made up of all long time Riverside County growers. Testing and administration is very expensive, however due to the large amount of people like you that joined USMILG previously those costs were kept to a minimum. USMILG members stretch from Winchester to De Luz all the way to Anza to cover the most acreage possible and keep costs low.
To enroll the first step is to join The Riverside County Farm Bureau. If you are a newcomer or left the group, that can be done online right here (click on Join Farm Bureau) and then send a check to USMILG for the enrollment fee to our current address at 33320 Temecula Pkwy. Temecula, CA 92592. If you are a current Riverside County Farm Bureau member please send us your membership number along with the enrollment fee at the same address. Clearly there will be additional fees as we move into the near future to cover administration, testing and acreage fees charged by the state.
The final two steps are to fill out a Notice of Intent with the San Diego Regional Board. That document can be found online at http://geotracker.waterboards.ca.gov/enoi/. This document goes directly to the regional board so make a copy of it and send it to the USMILG so we can get it in your file. The final step is to prepare a Water Quality Protection Plan for your ranch. We have included the pdf form that you can fill out and send to the USMILG to meet that requirement. Click here for PDF.
As you can imagine dealing with governmental agencies is never a pleasing proposition and this situation is no different. We hope to make the process a little less painful. We look forward to hearing from you and becoming part of our group.
If you have any additional questions and more information, please contact USMILG at https://www.usmilg.org/
