“Where is the River?”

It is tough to beat the feeling of lounging in a river on a hot low-desert day. Whitewater Preserve has long been known as a place for families to enjoy one of the few year-round natural water sources with free access. But if you were to take a look at the river right now, you will see that nobody will be cooling off in its soothing waters any time soon. The Whitewater River is dry and there is little sign that it will be back anytime soon.

Saying that the river is “dry” is a little bit of an embellishment. While California’s severe drought is clearly one factor in why the river is not flowing through the canyon, in fact, the river is still there, it is just below the surface. Throughout the cooler, more humid nights the water in the river channel will usually make it to the surface and even flow as a small creek. But with lower than average rainfall and warmer than average temperatures in the area, what little water is present in the river usually evaporates by midday.

At the end of last year the Whitewater Watershed was hit with multiple subsequent storms that brought flash floods carrying huge amounts of loose debris down the canyon. This debris was deposited right near the ranger station and consisted of larger rocks and more permeable soils. Because this newly deposited layer is much more permeable than the material the river once flowed over, the water is now sinking down into it rather than flowing over the top of it.

Contrary to some theories, the water that flows through Whitewater canyon is not controlled or dammed. This misconception likely stems from the seasonal water surging beneath the overpass on Interstate 10. This often misleads passerbys into thinking that the river up the canyon must be flowing the same way. However, the source of this flowing water is from high in the San Gorgonio mountains. The river you see flowing near the interstate comes from a charging station less than a mile up Whitewater Canyon Road. The station pumps Colorado River water across the Mojave Desert to subsidize water use in the Coachella Valley. That flow is turned off and on to meet the Valley's needs.

As of April, the Whitewater River has been flowing near Red Dome about 2.5 miles north of the ranger station on the east side of the canyon. We do not know when the river will return, but it definitely will. Until then we will keep our fingers crossed for short heatwaves, long lasting storms, and some relief from our severe climate-driven drought conditions.