Water Quality Control Plan for the Santa Ana Region

This document is the Basin Plan for the Santa Ana Region. The Santa Ana Regions includes the upper and lower Santa Ana River watersheds, the San Jacinto River watershed, and several other small drainage areas. The Santa Ana Region covers parts of southwestern San Bernardino County, western Riverside County, and northwestern Orange County.

The Basin Plan for the Santa Ana Region is more than just a collection of water quality goals and policies, descriptions of conditions, and discussions of solutions. It is also the basis for the Regional Board’s regulatory programs. The Basin Plan establishes water quality standards for the ground and surface waters of the region. The term “water quality standards,” as used in the federal Clean Water Act, includes both the beneficial uses of specific waterbodies and the levels of quality which must be met and maintained to protect those uses. The Basin Plan includes an implementation plan describing the actions by the Regional Board and others that are necessary to achieve and maintain the water quality standards.

The Regional Board regulates waste discharges to minimize and control their effects on the quality of the region’s ground and surface water. Permits are issued under a number of programs and authorities. The terms and conditions of these discharge permits are enforced through a variety of technical, administrative, and legal means.

Water quality problems in the region are listed in the Basin Plan, along with the causes, where they are known. For waterbodies with quality below the levels necessary to allow all the beneficial uses of the water to be met, plans for improving water quality are included.

In some cases, it has been necessary for the Regional Board to completely prohibit the discharge of certain materials. Some types of discharges are prohibited in specific areas. Details on these prohibitions also appear in the Basin Plan.