SAWPA has been working in conjunction with its partners, primarily the Santa Ana Watershed Association (SAWA) and Riverside County Regional Park and Open-Space District (RivCo Parks), toward the goal of eliminating invasive cane, Arundo donax (Arundo) from the Santa Ana River Watershed. Thus far, 3,000 acres of Arundo was removed and replaced with native habitat, providing approximately 10,000 acre feet per year of new water to the region (enough water to support 20,000 families per year).
RivCo Parks administers the Santa Ana River Mitigation Bank. The bank allows for project proponents or developers who have mitigation needs to purchase credits in lieu of implementing mitigation themselves. The sale of SAWPA owned credits goes toward the removal and treatment of Arundo and other heavy water using invasive plants in the Santa Ana River Watershed per SAWPA Commission Resolution 427.
