San Diego residents pay the highest water rates in the country but enjoy access to more water than we currently need. This has led to calls to dissolve the San Diego County Water Authority, which itself has created backlash. What can local leaders do to contain costs and offer people struggling with the cost of living some hope?
The clock is ticking down on Mexico’s deadline this month to pay the United States water it owes under a 1944 international treaty. So far, Mexico has paid less than half what it owes during this five-year cycle, which ends on Oct. 25.
ormer McAllen Mayor Jim Darling, chairman of the Region M Water Planning Group, says Mexico has the water due to recent rains. But it hasn’t paid the United States, and specifically South Texas.
The WateReuse Association of California recently honored Olivenhain Municipal Water District, San Elijo Joint Powers Authority and Leucadia Wastewater with its 2025 Outreach and Education Program of the Year award, according to a news release.
Presented during the association’s annual conference, the award recognizes the three North County agencies’ 2024 Water Career Day, which welcomed high school and college students and military veterans to learn about careers in water, wastewater and recycled water. Each agency engaged with attendees at interactive stations, performed demonstrations on real-world infrastructure, and offered insight into the industry’s wide variety of career pathways.
In the 1974 classic “Chinatown,” water wasn’t just water — it was power. Los Angeles power brokers quietly drained reservoirs, drove up scarcity, while ordinary citizens paid the price in higher costs and lost trust.
Half a century later, San Diego County is living its own version of “Chinatown,” and the stage is set at Lake Hodges.
Disputes over water have been a constant in California history, and San Diego is going through a particularly rough patch on that front these days.
At the center of the current maelstrom is Dan Denham, general manager of the San Diego County Water Authority.
The driest water year in nearly a decade ended Tuesday in San Diego, which recorded 5.07 inches of precipitation, barely half its seasonal average, the National Weather Service said.
The shortage of rain has produced varying levels of drought across the county, elevating the risk of wildfires at the time of year when dry Santa Ana winds begin to blow.
The Sweetwater Authority, which supplies drinking water to a wide swath of South San Diego County, is joining the ranks of local water agencies seeking to reduce their dependence on the San Diego County Water Authority.
Sweetwater governing board members earlier this month voted unanimously to begin laying the groundwork for a major new groundwater project that would involve pumping and desalinating millions of gallons of water per year from a massive aquifer under southwestern San Diego County.
Mayor Todd Gloria didn’t have the votes on Tuesday to pass the huge water and wastewater rate increase needed to avoid layoffs at the city’s Public Utilities Department. Councilmembers voted 8 to 1 to push the decision on a 63 percent water and 31 percent wastewater vote to Oct. 28. Councilmember Vivian Moreno voted no.
The mayor will need at least five to pass the rates by that date or risk layoffs at the Public Utilities Department or default on loans. In the meantime, councilmembers want to see the mayor’s staff find a way to save San Diegans money on their water bills.
The San Diego City Council delayed a planned vote on steep water and sewer rate hikes Tuesday, saying it needs more time to consider them amid concerns over the potential impacts on the region’s cost of living.
The proposal would raise water rates for San Diego customers by more than 60% and sewer rates by more than 30% over the next four years.
As climate change drives drier winters and shrinking snowmelt across the West, Southern California and Arizona are rushing to diversify their water supplies — investing in recycling, storage and Colorado River imports to guard against another crippling drought.
With fire season approaching, public officials in SoCal are debating not only whether the region has enough water to battle potential blazes like the one in Pacific Palisades, but also whether supplies will be sufficient in the coming months and years to meet basic drinking needs.
