The City of Coachella is a municipal corporation that provides full service governmental services to the residents and businesses of the City of Coachella. It is a city in the County of Riverside, California; it is the easternmost city in the region collectively known as the Coachella Valley. It is located 28 miles (45 km) east of Palm Springs, 72 miles (116 km) east of Riverside, and 130 miles (210 km) east of Los Angeles. Known as the "City of Eternal Sunshine", Coachella is largely a rural and agricultural community in the desert and one of the state's fastest growing cities in the late 20th century. When it first incorporated back in 1946, it had 1,000 residents, but currently has a population of 44,953. The city has a total area of 28.95 square miles (75.0 km2), all of it land. The eastern half of the Coachella valley is below sea level, and the area's average elevation is 68 feet (35 m) below sea level. The Salton Sea, a saltwater lake located about 10 miles (16 km) South of Coachella, lies 227 feet (69 m) below sea level. Coachella was a scene of Chicano political activism including protests and visits by United Farm Workers leader César Chávez in the 1960s and 1970s. For a completed history of the City of Coachella, please visit us here: http://www.coachella.org/about-us/history The City of Coachella Utilities Department is responsible for the retail sale of water and treatment of wastewater for the community. The agency produces over 6 million gallons of water a day and treats approximately 2.8 million gallons a day in sanitary sewage for the community.