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California Issues Draft Conditional Approval for Key Sites Reservoir Water Right

/in , /by /ABC 7by Vada Hepner

A major milestone has been reached for the proposed Sites Reservoir project, a plan to build a large new water storage facility west of Colusa.

The state has issued a draft decision to conditionally approve a key water right permit for the project. Under the proposal, water would be pumped from the Sacramento River to the reservoir, which would store up to 1.5 million acre-feet of water. Supporters say the added storage would help improve water supply during dry years for farms, communities and wildlife.

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Arizona Considers Buying California Water As Colorado River Tensions Remain High

/in , /by /Fox 10 Phoenixby Steve Nielsen Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

As state leaders battle along the Colorado River for a larger share, a city in California is possibly willing to sell its water to Arizona—but it comes at a huge price. Just a few years ago, Arizona considered asking Mexico to allow the construction of a desalination plant. It never happened, but in California, there already is one, leaving the question— can Arizona get a cut?

The salty Pacific might be one of the answers officials have been waiting for. In Carlsbad, California, the largest desalination plant in the Western Hemisphere provides 10% of San Diego’s water, and that water might soon be up for grabs.

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Corpus Christi Is Scrambling To Ward Off a Water Crisis. Here’s a Guide to Its Water Projects.

/in , /by /The Texas Tribuneby Alejandra Martinez

A historic drought has gripped Corpus Christi, the eighth-largest city in Texas, placing unprecedented strain on a water system that serves roughly 500,000 people across seven counties, along with one of the nation’s largest petrochemical corridors and Port of Corpus Christi, the country’s top port for crude oil exports.

Industrial demand accounts for more than half of the region’s water use.

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Record Heat, Melting Snow, and What It All Means for California’s Reservoirs

/in , /by /Times of San Diegoby Rachel Becker

A record-baking heat wave has been scalding California, with major consequences for the state’s most important reservoir: its snowpack.

Providing about a third of the state’s water supply, the Sierra Nevada snowpack is a vital source of spring and summer runoff that refills reservoirs when the state needs the water most.

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Opinion: Historic Regional Water Exchange Signed

/in , /by /The Raincross Gazetteby Mike Gardner Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

On March 19, Western Water and the San Diego County Water Authority signed a water exchange agreement that will provide benefits across much of Southern California. The agreement is conservatively projected to save Western Water customers $49.1 million, provide the San Diego County Water Authority an ongoing revenue stream of more than $13 million per year and a one-time payment of $39.1 million.

The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California will continue to receive full cost of moving water for member agencies and gain an important tool in long-range planning for water supply resiliency in Riverside and San Diego counties.

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No, We Didn’t Call Riverside ‘Nobody’

/in , /by /Voice of San Diego Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

On Thursday, we published a story about a deal San Diego is working on to sell water to other states. Environment reporter MacKenzie Elmer wrote that the San Diego County Water Authority is moving forward with plans to explore trading Colorado River water. The agency plans to explore those plans with Nevada, Arizona and the feds.

Elmer wrote that nobody had signed on yet. She had been working on that story for weeks, but the day she turned it in, the agency held a press conference to celebrate another deal: one they reached to sell water to Riverside.

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San Diego County Water Authority Signs Water Sale Deal With Riverside Agency

/in , /by /KPBS Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

The San Diego County Water Authority and Western Municipal Water District Thursday inked a long-term water supply agreement to provide the Riverside County agency water and ensure consistent income for the SDCWA.

Under the agreement, Western Water will receive a minimum of 10,000 acre-feet of water annually over the next 21 years, enough to supply around 30,000 Southern California households each year. That agency, which provides water, wastewater, and recycled water services to nearly 1 million people across 527 square miles in western Riverside County, also agreed to purchase around 30,000 acre-feet of water for future delivery, a nearly $40 million investment.

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San Diego County Agency Selling Water To Keep Its High Rates in Check

/in , /by /Los Angeles Timesby Ian James Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

San Diego County’s water agency is selling some of its water to another Southern California agency to help limit increasingly high water costs for 3.3 million people.

The water is going to Western Municipal Water District, which serves a growing area of nearly 1 million people in Riverside County, including Corona, Riverside and Temecula.

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Politics Report: San Diego Water Kings

/in , /by /Voice of San Diegoby Scott Lewis and Will Huntsberry Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority, Dan Denham

San Diego, in its corner of the continent, is at the end of the line of a lot of resources. Gas, railroad and water lines all end here.

So it was remarkable, historic even, that this week a theory became real: San Diego sold water to another region, specifically Temecula. Our decades of painful, costly, somewhat questionable investments in water reliability really did put us into the position of broker, exporter even. And the promises are flying that relief is coming. San Diegans who pay the highest rates for water around may someday soon see that burden ease because we are not just desperate buyers at the end of the line, we are owners.

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Water Authority Announces Long-Term Sale of Surplus to Riverside County

/in , /by /Times of San Diegoby Chris Jennewien Quoted: Nick Serrano; Dan Denham; San Diego County Water Authority

The San Diego County Water Authority on Thursday announced a 21-year agreement to sell surplus water to the Western Municipal Water District in Riverside County, potentially offsetting costs for local customers.

Western Municipal, which serves nearly 1 million residents in western Riverside County, will pay $13.5 million annually for 10,000 acre-feet of water — enough for 30,000 homes. It will also pay $40 million up front for the equivalent of three-years supply that can be tapped in case of an drought emergency.

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