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Tour (FEE)
SWRCB Drinking Water: 2.4 Contact Hours
CWEA: 2.4 Contact Hours
$40 before Friday, March 22, 2019, and $48 after
A truly unique opportunity to tour one of the oldest water sources in the Palm Springs area in a spectacular setting! The Snow Creek intake, which captures snow melt from the San Gorgonio Mountains from Snow Creek, Falls Creek, and Chino Creek, was the primary source of water for the Palm Springs area into the early 1900’s. While the majority of today’s potable water supply in the City comes from groundwater, DWA still maintains the Snow Creek facility which serves at the only surface water source used for potable water in the Coachella Valley.
Following the visit to Snow Creek, we will head back to the desert floor to tour the Whitewater Hydroelectric Power Plant. The Whitewater plant was completed in 1986 and has a one-megawatt capacity. This plant, a joint project of DWA and the Coachella Valley Water District, is located in Whitewater Canyon and generates power from water flow from the Colorado River Aqueduct – available through a State Water Project exchange with Metropolitan Water District. When the water is released from the aqueduct for recharge, it passes through the plant’s turbine which converts hydraulic energy to electric energy. The water is then discharged into the Whitewater River channel where it recharges the groundwater basin.