Tag Archive for: Colorado River

Urban Water Management Plan-Water Authority-Primary photo-Colorado River Aqueduct

Value of Water, Explained

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For more than 80 years, the Water Authority and its 22 member agencies have worked together to deliver safe and reliable water to our community. Thanks to our coordinated efforts and investments, the 3 million people who call San Diego County home have the water they need for generations to come.

Where does San Diego’s Water Come From?

San Diego County has three main sources of water: The Colorado River (61%), local supplies (33%) and the State Water Project (6%). Together these three categories provide a diversified water supply to ensure we’ve got abundant options to keep the water flowing.

Local supplies – Seawater desalination, recycled water, water purification, and brackish groundwater, are sources of local water supplies in the San Diego region. Local water agencies have worked to maintain and create these supply sources, with support from the Water Authority. The Water Authority also invested in the Carlsbad Seawater Desalination Plant, brought online in 2015.

Colorado River – Most of the region’s water from the Colorado River is generated through increased conservation measures on farms and canals in the Imperial Valley.

State Water Project – The Bay-Delta is the hub of the State Water Project, a water storage and delivery system that is owned by the State of California and operated by the California Department of Water Resources. The Water Authority purchases State Water Project supplies through the Metropolitan Water District.

The Colorado River Basin provides essential water supplies to approximately 40 million people and 30 Tribal Nations, nearly 5.5 million acres of agricultural lands, and habitat for ecological resources across parts of several Western states (including Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming) and Mexico.

How far does water travel to reach San Diego?

Water can travel up to a thousand miles before coming out of your tap. Snow and rain falls in the Rocky Mountains and travels to the region through the Colorado River. For the State Water Project, rain falls in northern California over 500 miles from San Diego and travels to the region through water infrastructure. In addition, the region has a growing array of local water supplies, including desalinated seawater and recycled water.

What does San Diego’s water infrastructure look like?

The Water Authority takes ownership of pipelines just south of the Riverside-San Diego county borderline and maintains more than 300 miles of pipelines in San Diego County that transport water throughout the region. Local water agencies operate thousands of miles of smaller pipelines that deliver water to homes and businesses.

Karla Sanchez-Engineers Week-Senior Engineering Technician

Water Authority Senior Engineering Technician Karla Sanchez. Photo: San Diego County Water Authority

How many facilities does the Water Authority operate to keep our system running?

With 1,600 structures and over 100 flow control facilities, the Water Authority’s countywide infrastructure is vital to provide San Diego with a safe and reliable source of water.

What is leading to rate increases?

Water rates are rising across the state for a variety of reasons, including inflation that is driving up the cost of items like electricity, steel and chemicals needed for water delivery and treatment.

The Water Authority and its member agencies are not immune from those impacts. In fact, San Diego County’s strategic investments in supply reliability, coupled with the work to maintain the aqueduct system, means that residents and businesses will pay more for water in future years.

The good news is that even during long dry spells, the Water Authority can meet the regional demand for water that sustains our economy and quality of life.

 

What else is the Water Authority doing to help the region understand its role?

The world of water is a complex one that needs color and context. That’s why, over the past few months, the Water Authority has developed a bilingual (English/Spanish) outreach strategy to tell residents across the region who we are and what we do. This program delivers targeted messaging across multiple channels, focusing on the value of water, infrastructure investments, climate adaptation and the people who make the water systems work. We hope that this effort will provide a deeper appreciation of the Water Authority and a better understanding of everything we do.

Trump Adds Uncertainty to San Diego’s Water Future

/in , /by /San Diego Union Tribuneby Michael Smolens

President Donald Trump’s recent order to release water from reservoirs into California’s Central Valley had no direct impact on San Diego. But the new administration will be overseeing negotiations that will determine the future of a main source of the county’s water: the Colorado River.

It’s anybody’s guess whether Trump’s unpredictable nature and penchant for unorthodox power moves — as he just exhibited — will be a factor.

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San Diego County Water Supply is Stable Despite Dry Start to Rain Season

/in , /by /CBS 8by Alex Lai Quoted: San Diego County Water Authority

Even in San Diego, it’s typical to get some rain in the winter. Except this year, the San Diego County Water Authority said it’s the third driest start to the rainy season in 150 years.

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Seven States’ Colorado River Negotiators, All at Same Conference, Didn’t Meet Together

/in , , /by /ABC 7 (Denver)by Elise Schmelzer

The 40 million people who rely on the Colorado River will continue to wait for a long-term plan for its management as negotiations between the seven states in the river basin remain stalled.

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Utah’s Idea to Swap Colorado River Water for Desalination Plant Money May Not Be So Crazy After All

/in , , /by /Fox 13by Ben Winslow

An unusual idea floated by the president of the Utah State Senate to get more shares of Colorado River water is intriguing California water officials. Utah’s Department of Natural Resources

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Water Rights Agreement Will Save $20 Million, Help Protect Colorado River

/in , /by /Times of San Diegoby Chris Jennewein Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

The San Diego County Water Authority announced a new multi-agency agreement this week that will save local water customers $20 million while protecting Colorado River supplies.

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A Pitch to Bring Some of California’s Colorado River Water to Utah Might Be Gaining Traction

/in , , /by /The Salt Lake Tribuneby Ben Winslow Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

An unusual idea floated by the president of the Utah State Senate to get more shares of Colorado River water is intriguing California water officials.

In an interview with FOX 13 News in May, Senate President J. Stuart Adams, R-Layton, proposed a novel idea: “We actually build desalination plants in California and trade them for the Colorado River water.”

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Innovative Water Deal Deliver Benefits to Regional Ratepayers

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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.”

SLIDER The welcome sign for the Lake Mead National Recreation Area, which includes 750 miles of shoreline. The federal site was Americaís first national recreation area established in 1947. Photo taken August 17, 2022. Christopher Clark / U.S. Department of the Interior - Bureau of Reclamation

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.

How Will a Second Trump Presidency Shape the Colorado River?

/in , /by /Times of San Diegoby Alex Hager

The people who will determine the future of the Colorado River said they do not anticipate major changes to their negotiation process as a result of former president Donald Trump’s return to the White House.

Multiple officials from states that use the Colorado River pointed to historical precedent and said that similar negotiations in the past were largely unaffected by turnover in presidential administrations. Historically, state leaders have written the particulars of river management rules, and the federal Bureau of Reclamation implements the states’ ideas.

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One Issue will Decide Arizona’s Future. Nobody’s Campaigning on it.

/in , /by /AZ Mirrorby Jake Bittle

The morning temperature is nearing 100 degrees Fahrenheit as Keith Seaman sweats beneath his bucket hat, walking door to door through the cookie-cutter blocks of a subdivision in Casa Grande, Arizona. Seaman, a Democrat who represents this Republican-leaning area in the state’s House of Representatives, is trying to retain a seat he won by a margin of around 600 votes just two years ago.

He wants to know what issues matter most to his constituents, but most of them don’t answer the door, or they say they’re too busy to talk. Those that do answer tend to mention standard campaign issues like rising prices and education — which Seaman, a former public school teacher, is only too happy to discuss.

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