Editorial: Agua Caliente Band stirs a great water rights debate

The lawsuit filed by the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians against the Coachella Valley’s two largest water districts could change our future dramatically, for better or for worse.

The suit filed in U.S. District Court alleges that leaders of the Coachella Valley Water District (CVWD) and the Desert Water Agency (DWA) have mismanaged the water resources and allowed the aquifer, where water is stored under the desert floor, to be overdrafted.

In the lawsuit and in a meeting with The Desert Sun editorial board, members of the tribal council and their attorneys claimed the water districts have ignored their claims of “senior rights” to underground water.