SMWD: Upper Chiquita Reservoir

The Upper Chiquita Reservoir is a new emergency water storage facility proposed by the Santa Margarita Water District in partnership with Moulton Niguel Water District, South Coast Water District and the cities of San Juan Capistrano and San Clemente. Upon completion, the reservoir will provide South County water agencies with up to 266 million gallons of emergency drinking water – enough to supply more than 168,000 local families with 200 gallons of domestic water per day for one week in the event of a regional or statewide water service disruption.

We encourage you to review the draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR) and participate in the public review process. Throughout this site, you’ll find important facts about the reservoir, its safety, intended benefits, details regarding its potential impacts, information about the public review process and a tentative construction timeline.

The official comment period for the project’s draft EIR closed March 28th. The District is reviewing the comments and preparing the Final EIR. To learn about next steps, visit our public process section.

The Upper Chiquita Reservoir has not been approved by the Santa Margarita Water District. Description and imagery in this Web site are based on the proposal and subject to change as a result of permit requirements, financing approval, public comment and/or participating agreements from the SMWD Board of Directors and other agencies including, but not limited to, the California Department of Water Resources, Division of Safety and Dams, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, California Department of Fish and Game, State Water Resources Control Board/Regional Water Quality Control Board and the Transportation Corridor Agencies.