Indian Wells has little land for new homes. $5M from feds may help build by flood channel

With little undeveloped land left in its borders, the Coachella Valley’s smallest city, Indian Wells, recently gained $5 million in federal funding to bolster its flood protections along the Whitewater Channel, work that would allow homes and businesses to safely be built just south of the riverbed.

The funding, which was included in a package of spending bills passed by Congress and signed by President Joe Biden earlier this month, will go toward a channel lining project that’s long been discussed by city officials.