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Hemet-San Jacinto Watermaster

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The Hemet‑San Jacinto Watermaster (Watermaster) is a judicial creation of the Superior Court of the State of California in and for the County of Riverside through the Stipulated Judgment entered on April 18, 2013 (Riverside County Superior Court Case No. RIC 1207274).  The Stipulated Judgment declares individual rights of Eastern Municipal Water District (Eastern), Lake Hemet Municipal Water District (Lake Hemet), City of Hemet (Hemet), City of San Jacinto (San Jacinto) and other private groundwater pumpers to Groundwater in the Canyon Subbasin, the San Jacinto Upper Pressure Subbasin downstream to Bridge Street and the Hemet Subbasin.  The basins mentioned above are collectively called the Management Area and are located in the San Jacinto Valley in Riverside County, California.  Eastern and Lake Hemet individually possess permitted and Pre 1914 Surface Water Rights to store, divert, and recharge Surface Water from the San Jacinto River and its tributaries.

The Stipulated Judgment further imposes a Physical Solution to achieve the optimum, reasonable and beneficial use of the waters of the Management Area.  The Stipulated Judgment also recognizes the Tribal Water Rights of the Soboba Band of Luiseno Indians (Tribe) determined through a separate settlement among Soboba Tribe, the United States, Eastern, Lake Hemet and the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD).

The Watermaster, established by the Stipulated Judgment, is a board composed of one elected official and one alternate selected by each of the Public Agencies and one Private Pumper representative and one alternate selected by the participating Private Pumpers.  The Stipulated Judgment also provides for a Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) composed of such managerial and technical representatives from the individual parties.  Day to day activities are managed by the Advisor to Watermaster (Advisor).  The Advisor is responsible for the administration and operations of the Management Plan Area under the provisions of the Stipulated Judgment, evaluates and analyzes data collected in the Management Area, develops conclusions base thereon, and makes recommendations to the Watermaster Board.

The powers and duties of the Watermaster includes making rules and regulations necessary for its own operations as well as for the operation of the Plan and the Stipulated Judgment; the implementation of the Physical Solution; development and implementation of a Water Management Plan; planning and constructing facilities to accomplish the goals of the Stipulated Judgment; purchase of water for recharge; data collection; levying, billing and collection of all assessments provided for under the Stipulated Judgment; record keeping; and reporting to the Court.

Board Meetings:  The Watermaster Board of Directors meets quarterly on the fourth Monday of the following months: February, May, August and November at 4:00 pm in the Board Room at the offices of Eastern Municipal Water District. The date, time, or location of the Board Meeting may change to facilitate a quorum of the Board Members, so please contact the Watermaster Advisor for the exact meeting date, time and location for the next meeting.

Meeting Location:
Eastern Municipal Water District Board Room, 2270 Trumble Road, Perris, CA 92750

Watermaster Documents:
Click here to view Watermaster Documents

Hemet-San Jacinto Watermaster Annual Report

Contact:
Advisor to Watermaster
Behrooz Mortazavi, PhD., P.E.
Phone: (714) 794-5520
Email: behrooz@h2oengineers.com