When it comes to water, San Diego County faces a couple of problems — persistent drought and a deep water year deficit.
National Weather Service numbers show San Diego has only received about half of the rainfall it normally expects annually.
To understand how San Diego County — with its erratic, unreliable natural water supply — ended up with too much water, you have to look back in time. Over the decades, drought after drought taught San Diego water officials an important lesson: the region can’t rely on just one source or agency to meet its water needs.
San Diego County has made great strides to safeguard itself against California’s recurring drought cycle. For example, in 1991, 95% of our water was imported by the Metropolitan Water District (MWD). By 2023, only 14% of our water was imported by the MWD. Diversification efforts included building the Claude “Bud” Lewis Desalination plant in Carlsbad, increased conservation, an agreement to import water from the Imperial Irrigation District, and other measures. By 2045, it’s projected that only 8% of our water will be imported by the MWD.
But it’s a different story statewide. Most of our largest dams and reservoirs were built between 1945 and 1968, when our population was less than half its current size. Voter approval of a $7.5 billion water bond in 2014 has resulted in few, if any new projects. For more than 50 years, California has failed to make necessary investments in water infrastructure.
