“Account” means the meter number and sequence and/or 12-digit account number which the Coachella Valley Water District holds on behalf of the customer to record the provision of canal irrigation and drainage water service. See terms “Customer” and “Canal water service” and “Drainage water service.”

“Account holder” means the name under which water is ordered and billed as related to the meter number and sequence number. See “Account.”

“Acreage” means the amount of land under one account.

“Agriculture” means cultivation of crops for commercial purposes, including growing crops and raising animals for the commercial production/sale of food, fiber, fuel, and other products.

“Air-gap separation (AG)” means the physical break between the supply line and a receiving vessel.

“Applicant (proposed customer)” means any person, firm, corporation, association or agency who desires to obtain canal irrigation water service from Coachella Valley Water District.

“Application” means the form for applying for water delivery.

“Appurtenances” means meter, valve, vault, overflow stand, and any other water-related device.

“Area of benefit” means specified geographic boundary that benefits from groundwater replenishment. If a replenishment assessment charge (RAC) is levied by the CVWD board of directors, property owners inside the area of benefit may be subject to a RAC on their groundwater production according to Cal. Water Code §§  31630 through 31639 . See Appendix E of this chapter for a map of groundwater replenishment assessment charge areas of benefit.

“Assessor’s parcel number” means a number assigned by the county tax assessor in order to identify a particular property.

“Auxiliary water supply” means any water supply on or available to the property other than the water purveyor’s potable water supply.

Beneficial Use. To be determined by the general manager or an agent of the general manager. Decisions will be based on: land use, crop types, methods of irrigation, leaching, recreation, preservation of fish and wildlife, storage, increased expense or inconvenience, conservation costs, future uses, reclamation, and physical solutions.

“Billing” means the monthly statement sent to the customer, which includes bill detail, bill summary, account information, and water use history. See “Account holder.”

“Board” means the board of directors of the Coachella Valley Water District.

“Canal irrigation and drainage water service infrastructure (water system)” means the canal, distribution lateral pipelines, pumping stations, reservoirs, drainage pipelines, and appurtenances, constructed by the Bureau of Reclamation for CVWD, or acquired by CVWD, for the purpose of providing canal irrigation and drainage water service.

“Canal water” means the Colorado River water delivered via the Coachella branch of the All American Canal through distribution pipelines to customers or to the terminal reservoir, Lake Cahuilla.

“Canal water service” means the delivery of Colorado River water to customers for any beneficial use. See “Beneficial use.”

“Class of service” is based on intended and/or actual usage of water as defined in Appendix A of this chapter.

“Commodity charge” means a quantitative charge for the amount of water delivered to a property, either metered or estimated, based on the rate code applicable to the property. Commodity charges shall be billed monthly based upon a price per acre-foot of water delivered.

“Contracted water rate” means a volumetric charge between CVWD and its customer defined by a legally binding agreement.

“Contractor” means any individual, firm, corporation, partnership or association duly licensed by the state of California to perform the type of work to be done under a permit or agreement.

“Customer” means any person, property owner, tenant, firm, corporation, association or agency who uses or desires to obtain canal irrigation and drainage water service from Coachella Valley Water District.

“CVWD” means the Coachella Valley Water District organized and operated pursuant to the provisions of the county water district law.

“Deposit” means monies required to be deposited with CVWD for the purpose of constructing a service connection or installing a construction meter.

“Development” means the uses to which the land which is subject to the parcel map shall be put, the buildings to be constructed on it, and all alterations of the land and construction incident thereto.

Development Design Manual (DDM). CVWD’s Development Design Manual provides comprehensive procedural and technical requirements for the planning, design and construction of CVWD service infrastructure required for new development.

“Distribution uniformity” is a term used in irrigation efficiency that measures the consistency of the irrigation event.

“Double check valve assembly (DC)” means the assembly of at least two independently acting check valves including tightly closing shut-off valves on each side of the check valve assembly and test cocks available for testing the water tightness of each check valve.

“Drainage water service” shall include all waters that leave the customer’s property through private-drain tile systems.

“Easement” means a nonpossessory interest held by one person in land or right-of-way of another whereby the first person is accorded partial use of such land for a specific purpose. An easement restricts but does not abridge the rights of the owner to the use and enjoyment of the land.

“Gate charge” means the fee to turn on or turn off canal water to a customer.

“General manager (GM)” means the general manager of CVWD or his/her appointed representative.

“Groundwater” means water produced through wells from any aquifer underlying the Coachella Valley.

“Improvement” refers to any street work and/or utilities to be installed or agreed to be installed, by the subdivider, public agencies, private utilities or any other entity approved by the local agency or by a combination thereof, and is necessary to ensure consistency with, or implementation of, the general plan or any applicable specific plan.

“Improvement district (ID)” means an irrigation water improvement district within a portion of CVWD’s service area, which is formed for the purpose of constructing or improving canal irrigation and drainage water service by selling bonds to fund the needed infrastructure.

“Irrigation water availability assessment (IWAA)” means the yearly charge assessed where irrigation water is available, whether used or not, pursuant to the Uniform Standby Charge Procedures Act commencing at Cal. Gov’t Code § 54984.

“Lien” means the process of levying property to recapture unpaid charges for water, other services, and any damages to CVWD properties.

“Meter number” means the number assigned to delivery point for service delivery.

“Miscellaneous charge” means other fees for water service that are not the base commodity charge used to offset the cost of purchased water.

“Nonpotable water” means either recycled water produced by wastewater reclamation plants, canal water or a combination of both.

Normal Working Hours. The customer service department is open Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Saturdays from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

“Ordinance” means specific rules or regulations of the Coachella Valley Water District.

“Overflow stand” means a vertical pipe normally 36 inches in diameter placed between a CVWD delivery point and the water-user system, to prevent water from flowing back into the CVWD system or overflowing a meter or reservoir; serves the same purpose as a backflow device. This overflow shall be one foot lower than the meter weir.

“Parcel” generally refers to a piece of land that cannot be designated by a lot number.

“Permit” means an official document or certificate issued by the authority having jurisdiction, which authorizes the performance of a specified activity.

“Person” means any individual, firm, company, corporation, association, political subdivision, city, county, district, the state of California, the United States of America or any department or agency thereof. The singular in each case shall include the plural.

“Priority” means preferential consideration for water deliveries when lines are at capacity, water is in temporary limited supply, and/or crops are in jeopardy. The initial decision is made by the zanjero supervisor; the final decision is made by the general manager.

“Property” means any real property, including any lot, parcel, premises, dwelling unit or building unit or portion thereof, that is the subject of a request for service or to which service is being rendered.

“Property owner” or “owner” means any person, agent, firm or corporation having legal or equitable interest in the property.

“Property tax transfer”means the process of levying property, through annual property taxes, to recapture unpaid charges for water and other services.

Prorate. When orders on a particular line exceed the capacity of that line, the zanjero may reduce all deliveries to equal the capacity of the line. If there is a temporary shortage in the main canal, all water orders will be reduced by an equal percentage to equal the available amount of water in the main canal. During a period of temporary shortage, any water order taken will not exceed an amount equal to the average of the previous month’s water orders.

“Recycled water” means recycled water generated by wastewater reclamation plants meeting the requirements of Cal. Code Regs. Title 22, § 60301.230, including any amendments thereof.

“Reduced pressure principle backflow prevention device (RP)” means a backflow preventer incorporating not less than two check valves, an automatically operated differential relief valve located between the two check valves, a tightly closing shut-off valve on each side of the check valve assembly, and equipped with necessary test cocks for testing.

“Regulations” means the current edition of, and any amendments or revisions to, CVWD’s canal irrigation and drainage system rules and regulations.

“Rendered” means presented for payment or consideration. A bill is considered rendered when it is delivered to the U.S. Post Office, sent electronically or by other means is presented for payment.

“Restore” means to reestablish water delivery to a property or parcel when water has been terminated.

“Right-of-way (ROW)” means any strip or area of land, including surface, overhead, or underground, granted by deed or easement, for construction and maintenance according to designated use, such as for drainage and irrigation canals and ditches, electric power, telephone lines, gas, oil, water and other pipelines, highways and other roadways, sewers, surface water detention and flow, and tunnels.

“Scheduled orders” means canal water orders placed with CVWD prior to 11:00 a.m. the business day before the water order is to become effective.

“Sequence number” means the number used in conjunction with the meter number to distinguish between multiple users on one meter.

“Service area” means the area within Improvement District Number 1 (ID1) that currently has irrigation or drainage pipelines underlying it. This also includes areas outside ID1 that benefit the groundwater aquifer per guidelines approved by the CVWD board of directors.

“Service connection” means CVWD’s facilities including pipe, fittings, meter, and valves, extending from CVWD’s irrigation distribution pipeline to the landowner’s field or reservoir.

“Set up” means the process of adjusting gates and valves on the lateral line, in order to deliver water to the user.

“Standard specifications” means the current edition of CVWD’s Standard Specifications for Construction of Irrigation and Drainage Water Systems.

“Street” means any highway, road, street, avenue, alley or way, either public or private.

“Structures” means pipe stands, vent stands, angle stands, box stands, meter stands, meters, and valves controlled or maintained by CVWD.

“Surcharge” means any extra fees added on to the water rate for added treatment of Colorado River water for irrigation purposes, including, but not limited to, the Quagga Mussel surcharge for chlorine treatment of the water in the Coachella Canal.

“Tailwater” means the surface water runoff resulting from crop irrigation methods typically found in flood irrigation application.

“Temporary service connection” means a service connection that is intended to provide canal irrigation water service during construction or other use of a limited duration as approved by CVWD.

“Tenant” means a person who rents or leases a property or portion thereof which he/she does not own.

“Unauthorized operations/tampering charge” means a miscellaneous charge assessed against the user of record for unauthorized adjustment of a CVWD facility or meter.

“Unauthorized persons” means persons other than CVWD personnel who adjust, in some manner, any CVWD facility or meter.

“United States Bureau of Reclamation (USBR)” means the federal agency created to design and construct dams, power plants, and irrigation projects. Today, the agency is the largest wholesaler of water in the United States.

“Unscheduled orders” means water orders placed the same day or after 11:00 a.m. the business day before the water order becomes effective.

“Utility user tax” means any tax imposed by a city on a utility, e.g., water, sewer, gas, electricity, etc.

“Volumetric charge” means the price per acre-foot of water delivered to a customer based on the class of service for the account.

“Zanjero” means an individual that manages the irrigation distribution system. Some of his or her tasks include turning valves, reading meters, and monitoring flows to ensure delivery to the customer. The term “zanjero” is Spanish for “ditch rider.”

“Zanjero supervisor” means the general manager’s representative assigned the responsibility to direct the ordering, transportation, and distribution of irrigation water throughout the irrigation system. (Ord. 1437.3 § 1-1, 2023; Ord. 1437.2 § 1-1, 2023; Ord. 1437.1 § 1-1, 2022; Ord. 1437 § 2 (Exh. A § 1-1), 2019)