Water customers in Imperial Beach and Coronado were at risk of a suspect pricing mechanism, according to a ratepayer watchdog, until state regulators stepped in late last month. There’s a lot to unpack, so let’s dive into one of the wonkier features of the state’s water market.
Life during the COVID-19 pandemic has been a time of uncertainty and anxiety, but also a time of compromise and collaboration. We have all been asked to make sacrifices both big and small for the greater good — face masks, changing business operations, remote work, outdoor dining and countless other accommodations.
Public agencies — especially those that deliver an essential commodity like water — should operate in the same collaborative spirit to protect ratepayers and offer relief during the continuing economic fallout.
The San Diego County Water Authority and its 24 member agencies have taken action to protect ratepayers by implementing strong cost-cutting strategies to limit rate increases without sacrificing a safe and reliable water supply or the ability to plan for the future.
With the recession and the COVID-19 pandemic causing economic havoc nationally and across Southern California, the San Diego County Water Authority has adopted several cost-cutting strategies to reduce rate increases and it’s asking the Los Angeles-based Metropolitan Water District of Southern California to do the same.
With the recession and the COVID-19 pandemic causing economic havoc nationally and across Southern California, the San Diego County Water Authority has adopted several cost-cutting strategies to reduce rate increases and it’s asking the Los Angeles-based Metropolitan Water District of Southern California to do the same.
When the Water Authority’s Board of Directors approved its 2021 rates in June, it limited rate increases to 4.8-4.9% – and more than 60% of that rate increase is directly attributable to MWD. The Water Authority Board also directed staff to return this fall with any other cost savings, specifically, any pass-through savings from MWD.
So far, MWD’s Board has directed agency staff to look for cost-cutting measures – but MWD staff is proposing not to offer further rate relief. Even though MWD is proposing to initiate cost-containment efforts to save $11.7 million in FY2021 (less than 0.6% of its budget), MWD’s September rate review memo recommends not to incorporate the savings into its budget and not to offer rate relief because it found member agencies “have not experienced significant [financial] impacts attributable to COVID-19.”
In reality, San Diego County and the nation continue to face a recession and double-digit unemployment, and many water agencies across Southern California are facing financial pressure due to unpaid bills by residents and their own efforts to provide rate relief.
In response to those unprecedented pressures, the Water Authority froze hiring, limited travel and training, and delayed equipment replacement, among other efforts.
“The Water Authority Board believes that it is important for all water suppliers, including MWD, to be recognized as part of the solution for Southern California ratepayers during this difficult time,” said Jim Madaffer, chair of the Water Authority’s Board of Directors. “MWD has an opportunity to help millions of ratepayers by tightening its belt like the Water Authority and numerous other water agencies have already done.”
Madaffer wrote a letter to MWD’s Board chair this week encouraging the nation’s largest water agency to take additional cost-saving steps. One way MWD could benefit all member agencies would be to reduce its water transportation rates by $15 per acre-foot. This would trim MWD’s budget by about 1.3% and provide $24 million in savings to Southern California water agencies.
However, Madaffer said the Water Authority is open to other ways that MWD can cut costs and reduce rate increases.
“We want to be clear that it also is not our intention to impede in any way MWD’s ability to provide a safe and reliable water supply to its member agencies – to the contrary, we believe these cost savings may be achieved without having any material impact on service,” Madaffer said.
To read Madaffer’s letter and submit a letter of support for rate relief to MWD, go to www.sdcwa.org/support-rate-relief-mwd.
San Diego County’s Local Agency Formation Commission requires a deposit to process applications to LAFCO for jurisdictional changes, and the Fallbrook Public Utility District will be providing an additional deposit to process the application for FPUD to detach from the San Diego County Water Authority and annex into the Eastern Municipal Water District.
A 5-0 FPUD board vote, Monday, Aug. 24, authorized an additional $62,220 deposit to LAFCO. The deposit is expected to cover an additional 510 hours of LAFCO staff time at LAFCO’s rate of $122 per hour.
San Diego water managers are working with local researchers to understand how atmospheric rivers bring water to the region.
The moisture-laden storm systems bring rain to Southern California, but too much rain can be damaging.
Scripps Institution of Oceanography researchers are working to better understand atmospheric rivers, or ARs, so they can predict when and where the weather systems will hit.
After almost 80 years of suckling the proverbial teat that brings fresh water from the Colorado River and Sierra Nevadas to San Diego, the local water manager is hatching a plan to unlatch.
The San Diego County Water Authority’s asset management team recently celebrated the completion of a comprehensive condition assessment of more than 27 miles of the agency’s oldest pipelines. The assessment was performed in record time over 16 months.
The items discussed at the Aug. 3 meeting of the advisory committee on the Fallbrook/Rainbow detachment created by San Diego County’s Local Agency Formation Commission included whether the reorganization was subject to California Environmental Quality Act review, whether LAFCO can place conditions on the detachment, and the use of consultants to address issues on which parties differ.
A lush native garden low on water use but not on style won first place in the City of Escondido’s 2020 WaterSmart Landscape Contest.
To encourage customers to reduce outdoor water use, the City of Escondido recognizes its customers whose yards best exhibit the beauty of California-friendly, low-water gardening in the annual competition.
The Brants’ landscaping before its award-winning waterwise landscaping makeover. Photo: City of Escondido
Winners Todd and Susie Brant said when they moved to Escondido and experienced its hot, dry weather, they began to reconsider whether they wanted to waste water resources watering a thirsty front lawn. They took advantage of the San Diego County Water Authority’s landscape makeover classes, then learned about the Turf Replacement Program, which could help cover the costs of removing their lawn and replacing it.
The Brants selected plants they loved and “found a place” for them. Photo: City of Escondido
“We followed all the instructions carefully and were able to get the entire project paid for from the plants to the labor, and even some help from a landscape design professional,” said the Brants.
Waterwise plant choices don’t have to be boring. Photo: City of Escondido
The transformation is dramatic from a featureless patch of lawn to a palette bursting with agaves, succulents, sage, bird of paradise, dwarf bougainvillea, and more.
“As you’ll see in the photos, we have a little bit of everything!” said Susie Brant. “We just wander around the nursery, and if we like a plant, we’ll take one home and find a place for it.”
The Brants also retrofitted their irrigation system’s sprinkler heads with new ones that use much less water.
The Brants took advantage of the San Diego County Water Authority’s landscape makeover classes to help them plan their project. Photo: City of Escondido
The Water Authority’s WaterSmart Landscaping Makeover classes are now available online. The next class is scheduled for September 12. The free, three-hour workshops teach the basics of how to do a landscape makeover. Each workshop covers topics different topics. Topics include soil, design, turf removal, plant selection, planning, irrigation, rainwater catchment, and implementation — all the elements needed to convert high-water-use turf to a beautiful, water-efficient landscape.
All weekday workshops are held from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. and Saturday workshops from 9 a.m. to Noon. Workshops are free, but participants must register in advance at WaterSmartSD. Courses are also scheduled for October and November.
