The San Diego County Water Authority hopes to leverage last year’s wet winter to switch to a cheaper water supply and sell their more expensive water. Those savings would be passed onto its member agencies in smoothed future rates.
Nick Serrano, a board member of the San Diego County Water Authority and Deputy Chief of Staff to San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria said if Fallbrook and Rainbow detach from the water authority, the rest of the ratepayers in the county could see their bills increase as much as 5% per year.
“I think it’s stunning that there is an argument to not allow people to vote, that people do not deserve a say in this matter and we just disagree with that,” Serrano said. “I think at the very least, we believe that the ratepayers, who will be impacted by this decision, should have the opportunity to vote. It’s not to say that detachment can’t occur, but they have the opportunity to vote.”
San Diego leaders have directed the region’s water wholesaler to pinch every penny this year in the agency’s $1.8 billion budget, as ratepayers continue to grapple with ever-higher utility bills.
The San Diego County Water Authority has in response made substantial changes to its spending plan, looking to cut several positions and delay about $48 million in capital projects, including a pumped hydropower facility at San Vicente Dam.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has awarded a $170 million low-interest loan to reduce financing costs for environmental upgrades that enhance the Claude “Bud” Lewis Carlsbad Desalination Plant. U.S. Rep. Mike Levin, who represents coastal communities including Carlsbad, helped secure the funds that will save ratepayers up to $54 million compared to alternate financing strategies.
“As we continue to confront increasingly frequent and intense droughts, today’s announcement is an exciting step in our efforts to provide sustainable, reliable water supplies for San Diego County,” said Rep. Mike Levin. “This low-interest federal loan will not only allow the Carlsbad Desalination Plant to improve its efficiency and environmental practices but will also save local water ratepayers tens of millions of dollars. I will never stop fighting to improve our region’s water security at the most affordable price for ratepayers.”
This is great news!
As we continue to confront increasingly frequent and intense droughts, today’s announcement is an exciting step in our efforts to provide sustainable, reliable water supplies for San Diego County. https://t.co/OH6l76KZT2
— Rep. Mike Levin (@RepMikeLevin) March 24, 2023
The loan, from the federal Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA), will help Poseidon Resources (Channelside) LP continue to provide local, sustainable, drought-proof water to the San Diego County Water Authority and its 24 member agencies while reducing costs of the current intake modification project.
“Saving ratepayers money while enhancing environmental protections is solid gold,” said Water Authority Board Chair Mel Katz. “The team effort between Poseidon, the Water Authority and Congressman Levin illustrates our commitment to find cost savings wherever we can while continuing to provide safe and reliable water supplies for our region.”
The San Diego County Water Authority added desalinated seawater to its supply portfolio in 2015 with the start of commercial operations at the nation’s largest seawater desalination plant. Photo: San Diego County Water Authority
The Carlsbad Desalination Plant is the largest, most technologically advanced and energy-efficient desalination plant in the nation, and it has produced more than 100 billion gallons of drinking water for San Diego County since operations began in December 2015.
“Since the beginning, Poseidon Resources’ mission has been to provide high-quality drinking water and a long-term sustainable solution for San Diego County while protecting ratepayers,” said Sachin Chawla, president of Poseidon Resources. “This infusion of low-interest capital and close partnerships with U.S. EPA and the Water Authority will further support modernizing Carlsbad’s Desalination Plant for future generations.”
Reverse osmosis is the heart of the Carlsbad Desalination Plant. During this process, dissolved salt and other minerals are separated from the water, making it fit for consumption. This reverse osmosis building contains more than 2,000 pressure vessels housing more than 16,000 reverse osmosis membranes. Photo: San Diego County Water Authority
The new intake and discharge facilities at the Carlsbad Desalination Plant will ensure the plant continues to meet California’s stringent Ocean Plan standards for protecting marine life. Work started in January 2023 and the new facilities are anticipated to be operational by December 2024. Except for a planned plant outage required near the end of the project to connect the new facilities to the existing intake system, construction is not expected to impact water production.
Diversifying and stretching precious water supplies is essential in the water scarce West.
EPA's # WIFIA loan to @CarlsbadDesal will upgrade the drinking water desalination plant to help address water shortages and protect critical marine habitats in the San Diego Bay. pic.twitter.com/NzMEXucb2Z
— U.S. EPA Water (@EPAwater) March 23, 2023
“Diversifying and stretching precious water supplies is essential in the water scarce West,” said EPA Assistant Administrator for Water Radhika Fox. “Our WIFIA loan to Poseidon Resources in San Diego County will be used for both upgrading the drinking water desalination plant to help address water shortages, stretch precious water supplies, and protect critical marine habitats in the San Diego Bay.”
Established by the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act of 2014, the WIFIA program is a federal loan and guarantee program administered by EPA. The WIFIA program’s aim is to accelerate investment in the nation’s water infrastructure by providing long-term, low-cost supplemental credit assistance for regionally and nationally significant projects.
The WIFIA program has an active pipeline of pending applications for projects that will result in billions of dollars in water infrastructure investment and thousands of jobs. With this WIFIA loan closing, EPA has announced 101 WIFIA loans that are providing $17 billion in credit assistance to help finance $37 billion for water infrastructure while creating 125,000 jobs and saving ratepayers over $5 billion.
Nearly a decade on, the Claude “Bud” Lewis Carlsbad Desalination Plant is a model of success not only for seawater reverse osmosis but also for visionary problem-solving.@WaterOnline https://t.co/ttXQvZQw1m#desalination @sdcwa #cawater #WaterResilience pic.twitter.com/ct0aQ3tKEX
— San Diego County Water Authority (@sdcwa) March 11, 2023
Chula Vista, Calif. –With the completion of a second water transfer, Sweetwater Authority has secured an additional year’s worth of local water supplies. Sweetwater Reservoir is at over 50% capacity, for the first time since 2019. These transfers equate to saving the Authority and its ratepayers approximately $11 million in costs associated with purchasing water.
(Editor’s note: The SweetwaterAuthority is one of the San Diego County Water Authority’s 24 member agencies that deliver water across the San Diego County region.)
Due to an old address being given out for the mailing of protest letters, causing some of the letters to be returned to their senders, the San Diego County Local Agency Formation Commission is extending the deadline for the submission of protest forms on the commission’s earlier conditional approval to expand Fallbrook Public Utility District’s activated functions to include (a) parks and recreation, (b) street lighting, and (c) roads and streets.
In its ongoing effort to keep ratepayers and the community informed, the Olivenhain Municipal Water District produced its first “Year In Review” video report for 2021.
The video showcases key achievements of the District, using an accessible digital video format to share details, images, and key facts with ratepayers through a familiar, trusted online platform posted to the District’s YouTube channel.
“Most customers are not aware of the numerous projects and developments ongoing at OMWD, so this video is a great way to package all our wins into one place for easy viewing,” said Joe Jansen, OMWD administrative analyst.
Jansen said many of the District’s fiscal accomplishments aren’t readily visible to the public like infrastructure projects.
“Videos are great informational tools to help keep our residents informed of everything we do and to help build trust with us as their water provider,” said Jansen.
In 2021, the Olivenhain Municipal Water District completed several replacement and upgrade projects at its 4S Ranch Water Reclamation Facility. Photo: Olivenhain Municipal Water District
(L to R) Board member Neal Meyers, GM Kim Thorner, treasurer Christy Guerin, customer service manager John Carnegie, board member Lawrence Watt, and assistant GM Joey Randall receive recognition as finalists for ACWA’s 2021 Huell Howser Excellence in Communication Award. Photo: Olivenhain Municipal Water District
(Editor’s note: The Olivenhain Municipal Water District is one of the San Diego County Water Authority’s 24 member agencies that deliver water across the metropolitan San Diego region.)
I am pleased to announce a decision by the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California’s Board of Directors to pay the San Diego County Water Authority damages and statutory interest for illegal water charges from 2015-2017, totaling about $36 million. MWD’s vote followed a California Court of Appeal decision upholding earlier rulings in favor of San Diego.
This payment will bring the Water Authority’s cash recovery on behalf of San Diego County water agencies and ratepayers to more than $80 million. An additional award of attorneys’ fees to the Water Authority, still on appeal, is expected to bring the cash recovery to almost $94 million for rates and charges set by the Los Angeles-based wholesaler over an 8-year period from 2010-2017. Adding in avoided rate increases when MWD stopped imposing the illegal rate, brings the total savings for San Diego County ratepayers to almost $140 million over the 10-year period at issue in the cases.
I want to thank General Manager Adel Hagekhalil, Chairwoman Gloria Gray and the entire MWD Board for taking this important step toward a more collaborative future. This provides exactly the kind of catalyst we need to resolve the remaining issues between our two agencies.
I also want to acknowledge the collaboration with our peers at MWD over the past several months, working together on the challenges we face including the severe drought conditions across California and how to maintain an affordable and reliable water supply for all of our collective member agencies and ratepayers.
The recovery aligns with the Water Authority’s focus on taking all actions necessary to protect our ratepayers and ensure affordable water rates for future generations. Litigation is never welcome or easy and it wasn’t in this case. But our Board felt there was too much at stake and that an independent tribunal was needed to address and resolve our respective concerns.
Announcement of these ratepayer benefits follows the Water Authority’s distribution seven months ago of a $44 million recovery from MWD for damages and interest in earlier 2011-2014 cases. The money – refunded to the Water Authority’s member agencies in proportion to their overpayments – also resulted from the Water Authority’s ratepayer protection litigation in state Superior Court and positioned its member agencies to reduce future regional water rate increases.
Importantly, the court rulings and guidance are also expected to help avoid future potential taxation of San Diego County ratepayers and minimize future disputes over MWD’s rates.
In February 2020, after the Court of Appeal ruled MWD’s “rate structure integrity” clause unconstitutional, MWD changed its rules to allow Water Authority member agencies to apply for benefits. As a result, the Water Authority’s Board of Directors voted to dismiss these issues from the litigation. Since then, the Water Authority has assisted its member agencies in obtaining nearly $500 million in MWD funding agreements including the City of San Diego’s Pure Water project, which is funded by rates paid by all MWD member agencies including the Water Authority.
The Water Authority is currently working collaboratively with MWD and its member agencies across Southern California to update MWD’s long-term water resource and financial plans. MWD’s Integrated Resources Plan, known as the IRP, will be supplemented by a new “One Water” plan intended to represent the agency’s roadmap for the future and focusing on enhanced collaboration with its member agencies.
Helix Water District will use $2.8 million received from the San Diego County Water Authority as part of a legal settlement with the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California to reduce future water rates for the district’s customers.
The pandemic has brought into even more compelling focus an important societal issue in San Diego County and California: How to ensure that everyone has access to safe and reliable water supplies. State estimates show there are approximately $1 billion in uncollected water bills statewide since the start of the pandemic that are directly attributable to household economic impacts associated with the pandemic.
The Water News Network is San Diego County’s source for water news and information.
Sweetwater Authority Logo 2019