A major Southern California water supplier voted Tuesday to approve a motion to help move forward a project that would tunnel water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to Southern California.
Members of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California approved allocating $141.6 million for the planning and preconstruction of the Delta Conveyance Project.
After years of decline and the threat of reaching “dead pool” status, Lake Mead’s water levels are finally on the rise, the Colorado River Board of California announced last week.
The fate of the Nevada reservoir has long been intertwined with the actions of farmers in California’s Imperial Valley, who hold some of the oldest water rights to the Colorado River and receive the largest share of the drought-stressed river’s water in California. Now, efforts to cut back water use in California’s hot and dry southeastern corner seem to be paying off.
For the second year in a row, the San Diego County Water Authority and its partners have struck a deal to conserve water in Lake Mead, support the long-term sustainability of the Colorado River and save local ratepayers money.
The agreements between the Water Authority, the Imperial Irrigation District, and the Metropolitan Water District, with funding from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, are designed to promote voluntary water conservation. The 2024 agreement was announced during a meeting of the Colorado River Board of California at this year’s Colorado River Water Users Association’s conference in Las Vegas.
As a part of these deals, the Water Authority agreed to leave 50,000 acre-feet of water from its Quantification Settlement Agreement supplies in the Colorado River, helping California meet federal conservation goals.
The 2023 agreement between the three parties was the first of its kind. The 2024 deal will save San Diego County ratepayers approximately $20 million, which will be applied to 2026 wholesale water rates.
“For the second year in a row, the Water Authority and its partners have struck a deal to conserve water in Lake Mead and save our local ratepayers approximately $20 million,” said Water Authority Board Chair Nick Serrano. “This is a win-win for all of us and demonstrates how the Water Authority is strategically using its assets to help protect ratepayers and the Colorado River through innovative thinking.”
The Water Authority’s efforts are part of a larger commitment by California water users to protect the overtaxed Colorado River, including plans to save at least 400,000 more acre-feet in 2025 after conserving more than 1.2 million acre-feet over the last two years.
“It is really a model partnership and collaboration between states and local entities and the federal government,” said U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner M. Camille Calimlim Touton.
California’s efforts have led to the equivalent of 16 feet of water being added to Lake Mead in two years, providing much-needed stability to the entire river system as the seven Basin states work with the federal government to create a post-2026 operations plan for the river.
“Our collective achievements not only have made a profound impact on Lake Mead today, they also illustrate the can-do spirit that the Water Authority and our partners bring to future conservation work on the river,” said Colorado River Board Vice Chair and Water Authority Director Jim Madaffer. “We are both proud of what we have accomplished and committed to delivering additional solutions for the Southwest in the years ahead.”
The Colorado River Basin is the most important water source in the West, providing water for more than 40 million people and generating hydropower in seven U.S. states.
The Water Authority will continue to pursue other water transfers and exchanges to maximize the value of San Diego County’s water resources and minimize the cost to local ratepayers. Those steps include budget cuts, project deferrals, debt refinancing, increasing grant funds and restructuring rates.
No country is immune from water scarcity issues—not even wealthy countries like the United States.
Population growth and climate change are stretching America’s water supplies to the limit, and tapping new sources is becoming more difficult each year—in some cases, even impossible.
The California state water board on Monday formally announced that the Sites Reservoir project failed to get federal approval, a situation they say isn’t permanent and can be rectified.
The rejection by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is the latest setback for the estimated $4 billion project in Northern California that would capture water during the rainy season. Officials have said the reservoir would hold up to 1.5 million acre-feet of water, or enough for 3 million homes a year.
Don’t miss this exclusive opportunity for emerging leaders throughout San Diego County to join the Citizens Water Academy and get an up-close understanding of our most important resource.
Over multiple sessions participants will learn firsthand about critical water issues affecting the region and go behind the scenes with water managers, planners, and engineers to gain a deeper understanding of the Water Authority’s life-sustaining mission.
Water Academy participants at the base of Olivenhain Dam. Photo: San Diego County Water Authority.
Since its launch in 2015, this award-winning program has equipped nearly 800 civically engaged leaders with the water knowledge they need to make a difference in their communities and careers.
Whether you’re a staffer or a working professional, an elected official or business leader, the information and relationships you’ll gain from the Citizens Water Academy will be impactful. Finally, graduates will have access to a robust and growing alumni network from across the region.
The application period runs from July 25 to August 28, with the class taking place in mid-October. Citizens Water Academy participants must attend all three sessions. Applications are available on the Water Authority website through this link.
Session Guide:
Session 1 October 16 – Wednesday lunch hour (via Zoom): Welcome and overview by Water Authority General Manager Dan Denham.
Session 2 October 17 – Thursday evening dinner: Presentations and activities focused on planning for a water-resilient future.
Session 3 October 19 – Saturday half day: Breakfast and lunch, and behind-the-scenes tours of the Water Authority’s Control Room, Emergency Operations Center, and Olivenhain Dam and Pump Station.
Current. Credible. Calgary. That’s the focus on CONNECT with Sarah Crosbie.
San Diego County Water Authority program manager Martin Coghill: “I can only imagine how much stress is involved.”
Oh, the things you do when you first buy a house that make you wish you’d known better. For Melanie and Rick Cullen, it was planting three liquidambar trees in their front yard around the time they moved into their Encinitas home back in 1986.
Time is running out for the West’s wet season, but recent storms have done wonders for the snowpack and the drought across much of the region, especially in California.
Experts say coming weeks will be critical in seeing if we’ll stay drought-free or experience climate-fueled whiplash back to dry conditions. The record-setting rain that’s pummeled Southern California over the past few days, coupled with solid water storage from last year’s wet winter, has Harvey De La Torre, head of the Municipal Water District of Orange County, offering this reassuring prediction:
