The California Irrigated Lands Program is designed to protect water quality by helping agriculture meet water quality objectives. The Water Code requires that any person discharging waste, or proposing to discharge waste that could affect the quality of the waters of the State, obtain a grower specific permit if not participating in a Coalition. 

In 2003, the Regional Water Quality Control Board adopted a Resolution for Conditional Waivers of Waste Discharge Requirements (WDRs) for discharges of waste to surface water from irrigated lands. The Board also developed Monitoring and Reporting Plans. 

In 2004, Cooperative Extension coordinated with local agricultural landowners in the Upper Feather River Watershed (UFRW) and applied for a ¾ million dollar grant from the State Water Board.  The UFRW, in California's northern Sierra Nevada, includes approximately 60,000 acres of upper-watershed irrigated lands (cattle & hay).  The proposed work elements included: 1) accurate description of irrigated agricultural operations in the UFRW including practices directed at water quality protection, 2) monitoring of both ambient water quality of rivers and streams, and irrigation discharge, 3) a program for education/outreach to inform members of the community about irrigation discharge/water quality issues, current requirements, and management practices for improving discharge and ambient water quality, and 4) demonstrations of effective management practices to mitigate water quality impacts from irrigated agricultural, and 5) a means to assist in developing individual farm management plans.  Three years (2005-07) of monitoring UFRW irrigated agriculture systems demonstrate limited water quality impacts in the form of increased temperatures, decreased dissolved oxygen, and increased E. coli concentrations.  In 2007, more detailed monitoring began within the watershed to pinpoint sources of E. coli and identify management practices which contribute to high in-stream water quality. Hopefully this new information will assist the Regional Board with modifying monitoring requirements for low input agriculture.