The San Diego County Water Authority’s board on Thursday approved a wholesale water rate increase for 2026 following a public hearing. Officials with the Water Authority said they were able to minimize impacts on ratepayers through a number of cost-saving actions as the board also approved the agency’s recommended budget for the next two fiscal years.
Wholesale water rates in San Diego County — a key factor in how much local residents and businesses pay for water — will rise next year by less than half of what officials were predicting last winter: 8.3% instead of 18%. But the Jan. 1 increase, which the county water authority’s board of directors approved Thursday after months of debate and negotiation, is still a substantial hike that brings the cumulative two-year increase to 23.1%.
Jason and Taylor McAllister may just have the most beautiful landscaping on their cul-de-sac block in Santee. For Jason in particular, being able to show off the couple’s home is particularly meaningful because he grew up in it and had helped work on the yard as a teenager. Jason moved away in December 2000 but returned for good in February 2020, the year his mom died and he inherited the home. She had been sick for quite a while and the house clearly needed updating. The landscape — both front and back — had gone to nothing but weeds and also needed a lot of love.
On June 26, San Diego County Water Authority (SDCWA) will vote on a staff recommendation (link is external) to end its sponsorship and funding for the Water Conservation Garden (link is external). The Garden says accessibility to the public is at risk if SDCWA withdraws, and started an online petition(link is external) campaign to request that an option to stay, be added to the Committee’s agenda. The petition has received 1,319 signatures in its first 24 hours. One can also send an email (link is external) addressed to committee members via their clerk.
Hot, dry and windy weather that fuels wildfires is becoming more common in San Diego County and much of the western U.S. amid climate change, a new analysis finds. Why it matters: What used to be several months of fire season is stretching in some places into a yearlong phenomenon, straining fire departments and others tasked with controlling or containing blazes. Driving the news: The number of hot, dry and windy — fire weather — days rose by 37 in the Southwest and 21 in the West on average between 1973 and 2024, per an analysis from Climate Central, a climate research group.
After a prolonged period of legal strife, the San Diego County Water Authority and the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California have called a truce, ending a 15-year dispute over water rates and pricing. This settlement is a significant step towards cooperation in managing Southern California’s water resources, which impact nearly 19 million residents.
The San Diego City Council unanimously approved the Residential Tenant Utility Charges Ordinance on Monday, aimed at preventing landlords from overcharging tenants for essential city-provided utility services. The new measure, spearheaded by Councilmember Sean Elo-Rivera, covers water, wastewater and waste management services.
The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California and the San Diego County Water Authority June 2 announced the settlement of a 15-year legal dispute over rates and the price term of an exchange agreement between the agencies. At a news conference in San Diego, leaders from two of the state’s largest water agencies hailed the conclusion of all pending litigation, highlighting their commitment to fostering greater teamwork on a range of issues that affect nearly 19 million Southern California residents. The settlement dismisses all pending appeals, maintaining earlier judicial decisions on various matters.
Facing its largest seasonal algal bloom in 20 years, the Sweetwater Authority may need to buy water to address the problem. At its May 28 board meeting, the South Bay agency agreed to increase its budget for the year in case it must purchase more water to dilute the water supply. The agency says doing so would help mitigate changes to the water’s taste and odor caused by the algae. With the new budget approved, the agency will gauge whether it will need to go through with the purchase, said Justin Brazil, the authority’s water quality director.
Slowly but surely the San Diego County Water Authority has scaled back on next year’s proposed water rate increase. Officials initially proposed an 18 percent increase, then lowered their proposal to 12 percent. On Tuesday, they came down on the rate hike again, suggesting to the San Diego City Council an increase of 10.4 percent. That wasn’t good enough for several councilmembers.
