The Santa Ana Watershedis the largest coastal river system in Southern California.  The Watershedarea is home to more than 4.5 million people and includes portions of SanBernardino, Riverside, Los Angeles, and Orange County.  The SantaAna Watershed is composed of five Resource Conservation Districts and severalparticipating agencies. SAWA is involved in a variety of projects designedto improve environmental quality and habitat within the watershed of theSanta Ana River.

The flow of the Santa Ana River begins in theSan Bernadino Mountains and discharges into the ocean at Huntington Beach,a distance of over 100 miles. The watershed of the Santa Ana River covers2650 acres of mountains, foothills and valleys. This watershed area containsportions of Los Angeles, Riverside, San Bernadino, and Orange Counties,and supports a population of over 4.5 million people. 

     The average annualrainfall for the watershed is 13 inches. Thus, under natural conditionsthe river would actually be an intermittant stream with little to no flowduring the dry summer months. However, contributions of water from wastewatertreatment plants have greatly increased the flow of the Santa Ana River. 

     The Santa Ana WatershedAssociation (SAWA) is committed to the protection and improvement of areaswithin the Santa Ana River watershed. Major focuses of SAWA are the removalof invasive species, which are a significant problem throughout the watershed,native habitat enhancement, and the protection of endangered and threatenedspecies.