Tag Archive for: San Diego County Water Authority

San Diego County Water Authority And its 24 Member Agencies

Water Authority Board Holds Public Hearing on 2024 Wholesale Water Rates

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June 15, 2023 – On June 22, the San Diego County Water Authority Board of Directors will hold a public hearing about proposed wholesale water rates for 2024, followed by votes on the rate proposal and the recommended budget for the next two fiscal years.

The Water Authority Board is seeking to manage cost increases created by extraordinary inflationary pressures and depressed water sales, while at the same time protecting ratepayers, ensuring water reliability, and maintaining the Water Authority’s strong credit ratings that reduce the life-cycle cost of infrastructure. Due to its long-term commitment to strategic financial management, the Water Authority has senior lien credit ratings of AAA from Standard & Poor’s, AA+ from Fitch ratings and Aa2 from Moody’s.

The public hearing is scheduled to start when the Administrative and Finance Committee meets at 9 a.m. June 22, at 4677 Overland Avenue in San Diego. The hearing will also be livestreamed at www.sdcwa.org/about-us/board-of-directors/meetings/. Public comments will be accepted in person; via Zoom at https://us06web.zoom.us/j/83333513511?pwd=SW9VU0NQaDd3aHlsMlN4ajluUkp4dz09#success with passcode 576222; or by phone at 669-444-9171 using meeting ID 833 3351 3511# and passcode *576222# as prompted.

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Everyone Is Racing to Decide a San Diego Water Divorce

/in , /by /Voice of San Diegoby MacKenzie Elmer Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

San Diego’s boundary referees are rushing to push up a vote on a controversial water divorce before the state Legislature can step in.

The Local Agency Formation Commission is holding an emergency meeting Wednesday to push up a vote on whether two small farming communities can break up with the San Diego County Water Authority in search of cheaper water in Riverside County.

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Lake Hodges Reopens for Boating and Fishing After Dam Repairs Completed

/in , , /by /San Diego Union-Tribuneby Phil Diehl Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

Lake Hodges has reopened for boating and fishing after a one-year closure to repair deteriorating concrete on the upstream face of its century-old dam.

“We are excited to be able to once again offer this beautiful fishing and recreational resource to the community,” said Arian Collins, San Diego’s supervising public information officer, in June 1 email.

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Opinion: Turmoil in San Diego’s Water World

/in , , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Michael Smolens Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

What seemed like an internal dispute among San Diego County water agencies is now reverberating in Sacramento and Los Angeles, potentially raising the stakes in the outcome.

At issue is the effort by two small North County water districts to get out from under the San Diego County Water Authority umbrella and hook up with an agency in Riverside County to obtain cheaper water.

IID Adds $10 million to Pay for On-Farm Conserved Water

/in , /by /The Desert Reviewby Betty Miller Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

Hoping to alleviate a perennial tug-of-war between the Imperial Irrigation District (IID) Directors and farmers on timely payments for conserved water, the IID voted to provide revenue certainty to the On-Farm Efficiency Conservation Program (OFECP) by approving $310.50/AF payment rate for all the 2023 conservation and authorize a budget amendment to increase the 2023 budget by $9.936 million at the regular meeting Tuesday, June 6.

The IID had agreed to a single payment rate not to exceed the $310.50/AF, and this would prorate the fixed budget of $41,399,800 to create at least 133,333 AF of conserved water, back in November 2022.

All is done to comply with the QSA that requires the IID to furnish San Diego County Water Authority (SDCWA) with 200,000 AF a year. The complaints the farmers have had with the IID was expending capital upfront to conserve water either through leveling, sprinkler, pump backs, drip, or tile, and then waiting months, or more than a year to get paid for the conserved water. Unfortunately, some of the costs never were reimbursed if paperwork requirements or water conserved did not meet the pre-set standards.
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Padre Dam Board Tells CWA It Can’t Accept Any Water Rate Increase

/in , /by /East County Magazineby Mike Allen Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

Padre Dam Water District’s board is fed up with having to pay higher rates for the water it purchases from the San Diego County Water Authority, and voted unanimously not to go along with any rate hike unless the CWA gets serious about its long-range planning.

The five-member board took the vote after listening to a presentation by CEO Kyle Swanson (photo, right)about CWA raising the wholesale rate charged to member water agencies next year by a range between 8.2 to 12.7 percent. At one point, CWA was considering increasing to about 13 percent, but the range is ever-changing and unknowable at the current time, Swanson said.

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Fallbrook, Rainbow Water ‘Divorce’ Decision Delayed Until August

/in , /by /KPBSby Alexander Nguyen Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

A local government body on Monday delayed the decision on whether two North County water districts can leave the San Diego County Water Authority to buy cheaper water elsewhere.

Fallbrook Public Utility District and Rainbow Municipal Water District want a divorce from the San Diego County Water Authority (SDCWA) because they say the water rate is too high. They want to move to the Eastern Municipal Water District in Riverside for its cheaper water. It’s a process called detachment.

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Los Angeles Steps Into San Diego’s Water Divorce

/in , /by /Voice of San Diegoby MacKenzie Elmer Quoted: San Diego County Water Authority

In their efforts to break away from the San Diego County Water Authority, two small farming communities have run into a powerful and unexpected foe: The Los Angeles-based Metropolitan Water District of Southern California.

At least, they ran into the man who chairs Metropolitan’s board: Adán Ortega Jr., a water policy consultant and former lobbyist elected in October to lead at Met.

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Fallbrook and Rainbow Water Districts Want to Leave the San Diego County Water Authority

/in , /by /KUSI

The Fallbrook and Rainbow Water Districts want to leave the San Diego County Water Authority because of high costs.

The water district’s say the San Diego County Water Authority is not serving San Diegans well, and they want to join a different authority in Riverside County.

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Experience a Sustainable Demonstration Garden Self-Tour

/in , , /by /Water News Network Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

Sustainable landscape demonstration gardens inspire homeowners to create and maintain their own beautiful, water-efficient landscapes. In California, where more than half of urban water usage goes towards landscape irrigation, any reduction in water consumption contributes to successful conservation efforts.

The San Diego County Water Authority and several member agencies host demonstration gardens that residents can visit and gather ideas for their own landscape makeovers and water-efficient upgrades. With gardens flourishing in late spring, it’s the perfect time for a self-guided garden tour.

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