San Diego County is in a secure spot when it comes to water supplies despite serious drought concerns throughout the state and Southwest, according to a recent San Diego County Water Authority update.
While the water districts of south Orange County appear well-poised to handle this second year of drought, most of that region is almost entirely dependent on imported water and officials are busy developing alternative sources.
Las Vegas, known for its searing summertime heat and glitzy casino fountains, is projected to get even hotter in the coming years as climate change intensifies. As temperatures rise, water demand for the desert community is expected to spike. That is not good news in a fast-growing region that depends largely on a limited supply of water from an already drought-stressed Colorado River. Authorities are responding by aiming to wring more water savings out of everything from ice machines and grassy medians to industrial cooling towers, an aggressive conservation effort that could provide examples for communities throughout the Southwest.
Chula Vista resident Paul Rodriguez gave up struggling to maintain his thirsty green lawn in favor of a new landscape design featuring California native plants and shrubs. The Sweetwater Authority Board of Directors selected Rodriguez’s makeover as its 2021 Landscape Makeover winner.
Mount Helix homeowner Rosalie Dosik turned her unused pool into a waterwise backyard oasis and the winning project in the Helix Water District 2021 WaterSmart Landscape Contest. The annual competition recognizes outstanding water-wise residential landscapes based on overall attractiveness, design, efficient irrigation, and appropriate plant selection and maintenance.
Colorado River water managers could be pulled back to the negotiating table as soon as next year to keep its biggest reservoirs from declining further.
The 2019 Drought Contingency Plan was meant to give the U.S. and Mexican states that depend on the river a roadmap to manage water shortages. That plan requires the river’s biggest reservoir, Lake Mead, to drop to unprecedented levels before conservation among all the lower basin states — Arizona, Nevada and California — becomes mandatory. California isn’t required to conserve water in the reservoir until it drops to an elevation of 1,045 feet above sea level.
The state Senate’s Rules Committee Wednesday approved Gov. Gavin Newsom’s appointment of San Diego attorney Fern M. Steiner to the California Water Commission. Sen. Toni G. Atkins, D-San Diego, who chairs the committee, said Steiner has a record of negotiating major agreements in the public and private sectors.
“As we face another year of drought and the growing impacts of climate change on our water supply, having experienced problem-solvers like Fern on the California Water Commission is more important than ever,” Atkins said in a statement.
Steiner, an employment lawyer, is on the San Diego County Water Authority’s board and serves as a trustee for San Diego Youth Services. Her appointment now goes to the full Senate for confirmation.
The San Diego County Water Authority Board of Directors welcomed new Metropolitan Water District of Southern California General Manager Adel Hagekhalil at its June 24 meeting. Hagekhalil was greeted with applause and smiles during the meeting and at a reception at the Water Authority’s San Diego headquarters.
Board Chair Gary Croucher called Hagekhalil’s appointment a “prime opportunity” for MWD and the Water Authority to benefit water users throughout Southern California before Hagekhalil addressed the Board.
“Water is about people, and I want to salute you for what you have done in San Diego,” he said. “We know how important water is to our economy, we know how important it is for our businesses. Water is life.”
“My goal is to work on uniting all of us together,” Hagekhalil continued. “What worked for us the last hundred years will not work for us the next hundred years; we have changing climate, we have fire days, we have a lot of challenges before us — we need to come together.”
New Metropolitan Water District of Southern California General Manager Adel Hagekhalil sounds a unifying theme in addressing the San Diego County Water Authority Board of Directors on June 24 in San Diego. Photo: San Diego County Water Authority
For Hagekhalil, the key is collaboration. “My commitment is to work for every member agency,” he said. “[MWD] would not exist if it were not for the member agencies that we work for — and that’s a shift that I’m going to bring forward. We are here to serve you, we’re here to bring you together and our strength is in our unity, coming together and trusting each other.”
Hagekhalil ended his remarks as he started, with the theme of unity to benefit the region’s water ratepayers and the agencies that serve them.
“I want to commit to you that you have a partner in Metropolitan, as I know you will be there for us as a region,” he said. “You will be working with us to build the future of this region as a whole, with everyone, every member agency, so every person from Southern California and across the state and the region will have affordable, safe, and reliable water that we can be proud of. Because none of us want to turn on the faucet one day and not have water.”
Thanks @adelh2o, for visiting the San Diego County Water Authority today. We look forward to collaborating with you on planning and projects that will increase local water supply reliablity for the Southern California region. #cawater #onewater pic.twitter.com/W2kQdWfs6f
— Tish Berge (@tishberge) June 24, 2021
On June 8, the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California Board of Directors voted to approve Hagekhalil as the next general manager, replacing outgoing GM Jeff Kightlinger. Hagekhalil’s is the 14th general manager in the district’s 93-year history.
On June 8, the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California Board of Directors voted to approve Adel Hagekhalil as the next General Manager. Photo: Metropolitan Water District of Southern California
At the time, said Water Authority Board Chair Gary Croucher said: “Adel is exactly the kind of person and visionary leader Southern California needs, especially as we experience another period of sustained drought, to help guide MWD as it faces important near- and long-term planning decisions impacting its water supply resources and water rates and charges. In short, Adel brings exactly the kind of experience and leadership we believe MWD needs at this time, and we look forward to continued collaboration with him.”
“Adel’s selection sends an important signal that Southern California is planning to rely more on sustainable local water supplies in the future, while not abandoning our commitment to the Bay-Delta and Colorado River,” added Croucher. “These include Water Authority agency projects such as San Diego’s Pure Water Project, the East County Water Purification Project, and Oceanside’s Pure Water Project.”
Numerous San Diego County elected officials, labor, business, and community groups joined in writing letters of support for Adel’s appointment.
June 24, 2021 – The San Diego County Water Authority’s Board of Directors today adopted a $1.7 billion budget for fiscal years 2022 and 2023 – a 0% change from the current two-year budget – and approved water rates and charges for 2022, following a public hearing.
The all-in rate, which is a blend of fixed and variable rates, will rise by 3.6% for treated water and 3.3% for untreated water in calendar year 2022, due to more rate increases by the Los Angeles-based Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, continued payments for past investments in supply reliability, and inflationary pressures on energy, chemicals, and construction materials. Actual water bills will vary based on customers’ water use, along with factors unique to their local retail water agencies.
Chula Vista resident Paul Rodriguez gave up struggling to maintain his thirsty green lawn in favor of a new landscape design featuring California native plants and shrubs. The Sweetwater Authority Board of Directors selected Rodriguez’s makeover as its 2021 Landscape Makeover winner.
The Rodriguez home before the landscaping makeover. Photo: Sweetwater Authority
The WaterSmart Landscape Contest is an opportunity for homeowners to showcase landscape designs focusing on beautiful alternatives to traditional turf-oriented designs. Entries in the makeover competition are judged on five qualities:
A trail lets visitors stroll through the property. Photo: Sweetwater Authority
Rodriguez and his wife participated in a free Water Authority WaterSmart Landscape Makeover Series course. It provided the foundation allowing them to embrace a design replacing the lawn. They also attended several native plant workshops hosted by the San Diego Chapter of the California Native Plant Society. The family were attracted to gardening with native plants due to their low water and no fertilization needs. They also liked the added benefit of creating a natural habitat for pollinators and birds.
Milkweed provides food for endangered Monarch butterfly caterpillars. Photo: Sweetwater Authority
The transformed landscape now includes several manzanitas and large Ceanothus shrubs in the back yard, which reminds Paul Rodriguez of hikes in Mission Trails Regional Park. The front yard adopted a California Coastal Sage scrub garden habitat. It only requires hand watering twice a month during the dry season.
It is a pollinator’s paradise with sages, buckwheats, and verbenas that attract birds and bees. Milkweed provides a food source for endangered Monarch butterflies. Milkweed leaves are the only food monarchs will eat. They also lay eggs on the undersides of the leaves. Striped caterpillars feed on the leaves as they develop.
The new landscaping features native plants. Photo: Sweetwater Authority
As the winner of the 2021 WaterSmart Landscape Contest, Sweetwater Authority presented the Rodriguez family with a certificate of recognition and gift card as a thank you for setting a waterwise example for other residents.
(Editor’s note: The Sweetwater Authority is one of the San Diego County Water Authority’s 24 member agencies that deliver water across the metropolitan San Diego region.)
