The San Joaquin County & Delta Water Quality Coalition was established to help irrigated agriculture meet the requirements of the California Regional Water Quality Control Board's (RWQCB) Irrigated Lands Program (ILP) in San Joaquin County, Calaveras County and Contra Costa County. Under the ILP that was originally adopted in July of 2003, farmers and ranchers that irrigate their land and have runoff from that irrigation or rainfall must belong to a coalition or apply for an individual discharge permit from the Regional Board directly.

The Coalition is a membership based coalition that implements programs that help farmers and ranchers reduce their impacts to the Waters of the State of California. These programs include best management practices (BMP), workshops, grower meetings, pesticide application information workshops and monitoring of water quality as required by the RWQCB .

It is important for for farmers and rancher to understand that this program is required by law and all of those who irrigate their land must comply with the ILP or face possible regulatory action by the state RWQCB.