Tag Archive for: San Diego County Water Authority

Water Community Rushes to Calgary’s Aid Amid Water Crisis

In times of crises, water utilities stand together to support public safety and reliable service. This was the case recently when the City of Calgary’s water infrastructure suffered a critical blow. On June 5, the City of Calgary issued a notice to the public about a 78-inch feeder main break after reports of massive streams of water spewing out of the ground. The city quickly enacted water restrictions to conserve water. Further evaluation showed that the break was more complex than initially thought, prompting a state of local emergency.

Water Rates Look Poised to go up – But Not as Steeply as Feared.

Local water bills might not be going up quite as sharply next year as expected.

The County Water Authority’s board tentatively shrank a proposed rate hike for wholesale water from 18 percent to 14 percent on Thursday — despite concerns the move could hurt the water authority’s credit rating. An increase in wholesale rates will force nearly every local water agency to pass on the extra costs to its customers, but just how much gets passed on could vary widely.

Water Authority Approves 4% Rise in Wholesale Rates – Maybe More to Come in July

The San Diego County Water Authority’s Board of Directors on Thursday approved an
increase of approximately 4% in wholesale rates for 2025. But that might not be all. The panel plans to assess the need for additional increases after a public hearing in July, according to an agency news release. The approved increase was designed to cover pass-through costs from the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California that start accruing on July 1.

Morning Report: San Diego’s Water Gets (a Little) More Expensive

After hours of debate, San Diego’s water importer (because the region has to buy most of its water from outside the county) decided to raise rates just a smidgen – and put off the doom-iest part of its proposed water price spike until next month.

Why? Well, a lot of local water district representatives (there are 33) weren’t comfortable with how the city of San Diego (the region’s biggest and most powerful water buyer) wanted to try and stave off bigger rate increases. And the city, which has the power to ram through anything it wants, hit the pause button instead.

OPINION: The Case for Water Rate Increases

Most San Diegans don’t often think about the journey water takes before reaching our faucets. It involves hundreds of miles of pipes, multiple treatment plants and countless moving parts to deliver a reliable water supply to our region, which has nowhere near enough natural water sources to sustain us.

Any disruption along the way could have serious implications for local families and businesses. As a result, regular maintenance isn’t just a good idea, it’s an absolute necessity.

OPINION: Deferring Maintenance on our Water System is a Risk We Can’t Afford to Take

Most San Diegans don’t often think about the journey that water takes before reaching our faucets. It involves hundreds of miles of pipes, multiple treatment plants and countless moving parts to deliver a reliable water supply to our region, which has nowhere near enough natural water sources to sustain us.

Any disruption along the way could have serious implications for local families and businesses. As a result, regular maintenance isn’t just a good idea, it’s an absolute necessity.

San Diego’s Water Prices Face Doomsday Increase

Thursday is doomsday for water prices in San Diego.

That’s when the region’s water importer – the San Diego County Water Authority – debates whether to boost its prices a whopping 18 percent come Jan. 1. The price increase is massive compared to previous rate increases, and the Water Authority’s biggest customer, the city of San Diego, is pretty ticked off. For the last five years, water rates rose between 5 and 10 percent per year. The last time San Diego passed a higher price spike was 2010 at 20 percent.

Calgary Water Pipes are Vulnerable to Failure

The infrastructure network that transports safe, clean water around Calgary contains 187 kilometres of pipe similar to the line that suffered a catastrophic break more than two weeks ago, forcing the city’s residents and businesses to cut back on water use and prompting a massive emergency fix-it job.

The city’s Bearspaw South Feedermain, which ruptured June 5, is a prestressed concrete cylinder pipe (PCCP), a design used elsewhere in Calgary and across North America. This type of pipe is known to be vulnerable to major failures, although its engineering has improved since the late 1970s and determining what, precisely, caused the feedermain to crumble may be impossible.

Calgary Officials Aiming for ‘Low End’ of Repair Timeline after Pipes Arrive from San Diego

Two key pieces of pipe needed to complete repairs to a water feeder main that ruptured, triggering citywide water restrictions, arrived Tuesday night from San Diego and are being prepped for installation.

City of Calgary officials now say repairs could move quicker than previously expected.

San Diego County Faces Nearly 40% Water Price Hike

Water districts across San Diego County are grappling with a dramatic price hike from the San Diego County Water Authority, which is projected to increase water prices by nearly 40% over the next few years.

Olivenhain Municipal Water District board members on Wednesday night voted to approve a budget that will affect 87,000 customers. A spokesperson for the district says they don’t know yet exactly how much this will cost their customers.