Tag Archive for: SDCWA

Summer 2023 Water Academy class visiting the Olivenhain Dam and Pump Station.

Applications Now Open for Spring 2025 Citizens Water Academy

Don’t miss this exclusive opportunity for emerging leaders throughout San Diego County to join the Citizens Water Academy and get an up-close understanding of our most important resource.

Over multiple sessions participants will learn firsthand about critical water issues affecting the region and go behind the scenes with water managers, planners, and engineers to gain a deeper understanding of the Water Authority’s life-sustaining mission.

Citizen Water Academy participants check out the Olivenhain Dam.

Citizen Water Academy participants check out the Olivenhain Dam.

Since its launch in 2015, this award-winning program has equipped nearly 800 civically engaged leaders with the water knowledge they need to make a difference in their communities and careers.

Whether you’re a staffer or a working professional, an elected official or business leader, the information and relationships you’ll gain from the Citizens Water Academy will be impactful. Finally, graduates will have access to a robust and growing alumni network from across the region.

The application period runs from January 6 to February 28, with the class taking place in early April. Citizens Water Academy participants must attend all three sessions. The application is available on the Water Authority website through this link.

Session Guide:

Session 1 – Wednesday lunch hour, April 9 via Zoom. Welcome and overview by General Manager Dan Denham.

Session 2 – Thursday evening, April 10. Dinner, presentations, and activities. Topic: planning for a water-resilient future.

Session 3 – Saturday, April 12, half day. Breakfast and lunch, and behind-the-scenes tours of the Water Authority’s Operations Center and Olivenhain Dam and Pump Station.

Innovative Water Deal Deliver Benefits to Regional Ratepayers

For the second year in a row, the San Diego County Water Authority and its partners have struck a deal to conserve water in Lake Mead, support the long-term sustainability of the Colorado River and save local ratepayers money.

The agreements between the Water Authority, the Imperial Irrigation District, and the Metropolitan Water District, with funding from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, are designed to promote voluntary water conservation. The 2024 agreement was announced during a meeting of the Colorado River Board of California at this year’s Colorado River Water Users Association’s conference in Las Vegas.

As a part of these deals, the Water Authority agreed to leave 50,000 acre-feet of water from its Quantification Settlement Agreement supplies in the Colorado River, helping California meet federal conservation goals.

The 2023 agreement between the three parties was the first of its kind. The 2024 deal will save San Diego County ratepayers approximately $20 million, which will be applied to 2026 wholesale water rates.

“For the second year in a row, the Water Authority and its partners have struck a deal to conserve water in Lake Mead and save our local ratepayers approximately $20 million,” said Water Authority Board Chair Nick Serrano. “This is a win-win for all of us and demonstrates how the Water Authority is strategically using its assets to help protect ratepayers and the Colorado River through innovative thinking.”

The Water Authority’s efforts are part of a larger commitment by California water users to protect the overtaxed Colorado River, including plans to save at least 400,000 more acre-feet in 2025 after conserving more than 1.2 million acre-feet over the last two years.

“It is really a model partnership and collaboration between states and local entities and the federal government,” said U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner M. Camille Calimlim Touton.

California’s efforts have led to the equivalent of 16 feet of water being added to Lake Mead in two years, providing much-needed stability to the entire river system as the seven Basin states work with the federal government to create a post-2026 operations plan for the river.

“Our collective achievements not only have made a profound impact on Lake Mead today, they also illustrate the can-do spirit that the Water Authority and our partners bring to future conservation work on the river,” said Colorado River Board Vice Chair and Water Authority Director Jim Madaffer. “We are both proud of what we have accomplished and committed to delivering additional solutions for the Southwest in the years ahead.”

SLIDER The welcome sign for the Lake Mead National Recreation Area, which includes 750 miles of shoreline. The federal site was Americaís first national recreation area established in 1947. Photo taken August 17, 2022. Christopher Clark / U.S. Department of the Interior - Bureau of Reclamation

The Colorado River Basin is the most important water source in the West, providing water for more than 40 million people and generating hydropower in seven U.S. states.

The Water Authority will continue to pursue other water transfers and exchanges to maximize the value of San Diego County’s water resources and minimize the cost to local ratepayers. Those steps include budget cuts, project deferrals, debt refinancing, increasing grant funds and restructuring rates.

“Scanny” Gives SDCWA a New Perspective on Pipe Inspection

The high-tech surveillance device is called “Scanny.” Previously, SDCWA hired a specialty rope crew at a minimum of $3,000 a day to help perform the steep, slippery work throughout the hills and canyons of its service area. Shutoffs for this type of maintenance can’t surpass 10 days, so the pipe remained slick throughout the job.

Martin Coghill, SDCWA’s operations and maintenance manager, created the Scanny device in his spare time in his garage for less than $6,000. He arranged a series of GoPro cameras and lights on a mobile chassis. Learn more about how Scanny works in this video.

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

Membrane Tech Important Piece of Water Future

The November edition of Journal AWWA (American Water Works Association) features a San Diego County Water Authority employee’s thoughts on a larger discussion about what the world of water could look like in 2050. In a piece titled “Addressing the Global Water Crisis With Membrane Technology”, Water Authority Principal Engineer Silvana Ghiu and her co-authors expanded on the vital importance of membrane technology for a hotter and dryer planet.

“The United Nations’ World Water Development Report 2023: Partnerships and Cooperation for Water estimates that the urban population facing water scarcity will increase from 933 million in 2016 to between 1.7 and 2.4 billion by 2050, representing one-third to one-half of the global urban population,” the article’s authors highlighted.

What can be done to fight against this global emergency?

The November edition of Journal AWWA

The November edition of Journal AWWA

“After decades of advancements and innovation, membrane technology has evolved into an essential tool that can harness unconventional water sources to provide safe, sustainable drinking water.”

San Diego County residents don’t have to go far to see this technology in action. In fact, it’s being used right here in Carlsbad.

“In California, drought is intrinsic to the natural climate, and the need for lo­cal, reliable water supplies led to the 2015 construction of the Claude ‘Bud’ Lewis Carlsbad Desalination Plant, the largest desalination plant in the Western Hemisphere, with a capac­ity of 50 mgd (million gallons per day).”

From desalination along the coast to using membrane technology to treat brackish water in the interior, along with future advancements that could create even more opportunities for reliability, this technology is clearly here to stay.

“Membrane technology could be present in some capacity in nearly every new water plant built by the middle of this century,” writes Ghiu and her co-authors. In San Diego that future is already here as the Water Authority continues to build a reliable regional water supply for a changing climate. To read more, click here.

Utility Patent-Pipeline Inspection Tool-

Water Authority Wins Golden Watchdog Award

The San Diego County Water Authority won a Golden Watchdog Award at this year’s Golden Watchdog & Fleece Awards hosted by the San Diego County Taxpayers Association on Oct. 18. The Water Authority was recognized for its deployment of “Scanny,” a high-tech surveillance device designed to safely and efficiently monitor the agency’s large-diameter pipelines that provide water to the San Diego region.

Scanny-patent-innovation-

The inspection tool uses commercially available lightweight adventure cameras and lights that are arranged in a unique way on a chassis that moves through pipelines that are 4 to 9 feet in diameter. Photo: San Diego County Water Authority

A special congratulations to the Water Authority’s Operations and Maintenance team and in particular Asset Management Manager Martin Coghill, who designed and patented “Scanny” on behalf of the Water Authority.

Proactive maintenance and asset management practices allow water agencies to extend the lifespan of their pipeline assets by more than 50%. With 308 miles of transmission pipelines, 100 flow control facilities and more than 1,400 pipeline-related structures, the Water Authority is constantly assessing and inspecting critical infrastructure across the county. This not only ensures that the Water Authority can stay ahead of potential emergencies but also reduce the need for replacing infrastructure.

Inspections involve crews entering the drained pipelines and evaluating around 30 miles each year. The pipelines traverse the hilly terrain of San Diego County, and some sections are so steep that they require the use of specialized rope and rigging support teams. That’s where “Scanny” comes in. Using an array of cameras to provide high-definition video surveillance of the interior of the pipeline, invented by Water Authority staff, provides the ability to inspect these pipes without requiring specialists.

The benefit of this technology goes beyond proactive maintenance. When compared to the cost of hiring specialized rope and rigging teams, “Scanny” paid for itself in just two deployments. “Scanny” can also be deployed multiple times each year during the inspection season.

Asset management at the Water Authority is more than just using new technology, it’s a strategic investment. In round numbers, the cost to replace 1 mile of large-diameter pipeline can be around $10 million. The cost to assess and maintain the same mile of pipeline may be around $100,000 every 10 years.

Imagining a World Without Water

Every October 17, the US Water Alliance hosts “Imagine a Day Without Water” — a chance to collectively acknowledge the critical role water plays in every aspect of our lives.

Imagine rolling out of bed in the morning, going to brush your teeth, and no water coming out of the tap. You check the dishwasher, which was supposed to run last night, and see the plates and glasses are still dirty. The shower runs dry, the lawn isn’t watered, and the washing machine is idle.

A world without water. It’s a scary proposition.

While this may seem like science fiction, some cities have come extremely close to this terrifying reality. A few years ago, huge water shortages forced residents of Cape Town, South Africa, to shrink their water use to all-time lows.  “We are now limited to using 13 gallons of water per person per day,” wrote Time Magazine. “That’s enough for a 90-second shower, a half-gallon of drinking water, a sinkful to hand-wash dishes or laundry, one cooked meal, two hand washings, two teeth brushings and one toilet flush.”

This year Mexico City faced similar catastrophic cuts to keep preserve their dwindling water reserves. “Bernardo Nonato Corona, a resident of the hills surrounding Mexico City, told ABC News he spends 25% of his income on water.”

Cataclysmic water shortages, safety and supply problems aren’t just an international issue. They’re happening right here in California as well. An annual assessment released by the State Water Resources Control Board found that “almost 400 water systems serving nearly a million Californians don’t meet state requirements for safe and reliable drinking water supplies.”

Climate change, poor planning and other factors have caused residents around the world to face a world without water.

Now think about how a similar situation would impact our region. More than 3 million residents across the county and hundreds of millions of dollars in economic activity would grind to a halt, making the basic activities we take for granted impossible.

Thankfully, the San Diego region has planned to make sure that scenario stays a hypothetical.

On Oct. 1, the San Diego County Water Authority announced that the region had plenty of water to meet demands during the year ahead regardless of the weather. That’s because our region’s work on new supplies, conservation and water storage over the past 30 years were a down payment on sustainable water supplies for future generations.

We know there are challenges ahead to provide our growing region the reliable water supply it needs in a hotter and drier world. We’re working to make sure that a world without water is just a one day thought experiment instead of reality.

Tijuana Water Deliveries, Explained

Over the last few weeks, several stories have come out about water deliveries being made to the city of Tijuana. Here’s some of the basics behind this unique international agreement.  

Whose water is it? Mexico’s. Water delivered through the Emergency Deliveries Agreement is a portion of the Colorado River supplies allotted to Mexico under the 1944 Treaty.  

Where does it come from? Under normal conditions, Tijuana’s supply of Colorado River is diverted from the Morelos Dam, about 1 mile downstream of the California and Baja California boundary, south of Yuma, Ariz. Water is transported west through the Alamo Canal to Mexicali, and then through the Tijuana Aqueduct to Tijuana, for a total of about 150 miles.  

Under emergency conditions, Mexico’s Colorado River supply to Tijuana is diverted at Lake Havasu and transported through Metropolitan’s 242-mile Colorado River Aqueduct before being conveyed through MWD, Water Authority and Otay Water District distribution systems. 

Daytime papel picado framed view of the iconic landmark arch of downtown Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico.

When did deliveries start? The Agreement was signed in 1972, and several amendments (minutes) were signed since then that document the authorization of emergency deliveries to Mexico. Delivery volumes have varied from 0 to nearly 10,000 acre-feet per year; the maximum annual delivery volume, per the agreement, is 14,400 acre-feet.  

Emergency deliveries occurred throughout the 1970s and stopped from 1981-2002. Deliveries started up again from 2003-2012, with another hiatus from 2013- 2017. Most recently, Mexico has requested emergency deliveries every year from 2018 -2024, except for 2021. 

How many agencies are involved? A number of agencies from the federal, state, local and Mexico governments are involved. On the U.S. side, this includes the Bureau of Reclamation, the U.S. International Boundary and Water Commission, Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, San Diego County Water Authority and Otay Water District. South of the border, the National Water Commission, Mexico’s International Boundary and Water Commission, State Public Utility Commission of Tijuana (CESPT) and other agencies are involved. 

What does the current agreement include? The current agreement, which expires in 2027, includes procedures and schedules for annual emergency delivery requests, capacity determination by the California Agencies, base cost of deliveries calculation and fund balance requirements.   

With each annual request by Mexico, the California Agencies must agree to deliver the requested delivery volumes based on available capacity within their respective systems. Additionally, funds must be provided by Mexico in advance of water deliveries.  

Opinion: Calgary’s Water-main Break Has Important Lessons for the Rest of Us

I saw a heartwarming tweet on Sunday. It was notable for two reasons. The first was that something heartwarming was a nice change of pace. But the second was that it spoke to a story that is currently very much in the news and also very relevant to my interests. The municipal water-service department in San Diego, California, is shipping the city of Calgary a spare section of pipe. It is apparently exactly what Calgary needs to help recover from the recent catastrophic water-main failure that has deprived the city of 60 per cent of its potable water supply, resulting in the declaration, this weekend, of a state of emergency.

Top (L to R): Mel Katz, chair SDCWA Board; Jim Madaffer, Vice Chair Colorado River Board of CA and SDCWA Board member; Gloria Cordero, MWD’s representative to the Colorado River Board; Adan Ortega, chair MWD Board; J.B. Hamby, Chair Colorado River Board of CA. Bottom (L To R): Dan Denham, SDCWA General Manager; Camille Touton, Commissioner of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation; Adel Hagekhalil, MWD General Manager; Jamie Asbury, Imperial Irrigation District General Manager. Photo: San Diego County Water Authority

Historic Agreement Signed To Protect The Colorado River  

The San Diego County Water Authority today joined the Imperial Irrigation District, Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, Fort Yuma Quechan Indian Tribe, Palo Verde Irrigation District, Coachella Valley Water District, and the United States Bureau of Reclamation in signing a historic agreement to protect the Colorado River Basin. It is the first in a series of agreements to conserve 1.6 million acre-feet of water to remain in Lake Mead.

The landmark water agreements are a vital part of the Lower Basin Plan by Arizona, California, and Nevada to protect the Colorado River from extended drought — a plan identified this fall as Reclamation’s proposed action for near-term Colorado River operations. Funds to facilitate the deal are from the federal 2022 Inflation Reduction Act.

Water Authority Board Chair Mel Katz, General Manager Dan Denham, and Board member and vice chair of the Colorado River Board of California Jim Madaffer, were part of today’s signing ceremony in Las Vegas in conjunction with the Colorado River Water Users Association annual conference. The Water Authority’s piece of the multi-party pacts is expected to save the San Diego region $15 million to $20 million (depending on hydrological variables), which will help offset the impact of inflation and other factors pushing up water rates.

Water Authority General Manager Dan Denham speaks at the Dec. 13 signing ceremony in Las Vegas, supporting a set of agreements to sustain the Colorado River and save money for San Diego County water ratepayers. Photo: San Diego County Water Authority historic agreement

Water Authority General Manager Dan Denham speaks at the December 13 signing ceremony in Las Vegas, supporting a set of agreements to sustain the Colorado River and save money for San Diego County water ratepayers. Photo: San Diego County Water Authority

“This is a significant moment not just for today but for the long-term survival of the Colorado River,” said Denham. “All the critical pieces are here: willing partners, meaningful levels of conservation, federal funding, environmental benefits for the Salton Sea, and respect for the Law of the River.”

Today’s signed agreement ensures Lake Mead, the nation’s largest reservoir, can continue delivering water to millions of people and millions of acres of farmland, including in San Diego County, over the next three years. Additional agreements are anticipated to be signed in 2024 with the Bard Water District, the Coachella Valley Water District, and the Imperial Irrigation District.

“Less than a year ago, we faced the worst possible consequences of drought and interstate conflict. Today, California’s agricultural, urban, and tribal users are banding together through these agreements to protect the Colorado River as part of the Lower Basin Plan with the instrumental support of the Bureau of Reclamation. It’s an incredible turnaround,” said JB Hamby, chairman of the Colorado River Board of California and Colorado River Commissioner for California.

Earlier Partnership Creates Foundation for Cooperation 

Supporters await the Dec. 13 signing ceremony in Las Vegas, supporting a set of agreements to sustain the Colorado River and save money for San Diego County water ratepayers. Photo: San Diego County Water Authority  historic agreement

Witnesses to history await the Dec. 13 signing ceremony in Las Vegas, supporting a set of agreements to sustain the Colorado River and save money for San Diego County water ratepayers. Photo: San Diego County Water Authority

Today’s agreements build on the groundbreaking 2003 Quantification Settlement Agreement. The QSA achieves several goals by helping California meet conservation obligations under Reclamation’s Lower Colorado River Basin conservation program, supporting financial viability for participating agencies, and reducing the chances for more shortages. The river system has suffered drought-induced decline for more than 20 years.

“IID remains fully committed to working proactively with its partners for the long-term sustainability of the Colorado River and Lake Mead, the source of IID’s only water supply,” said Imperial Irrigation District General Manager Jamie Asbury. “We are equally committed to ensuring any impacts to the Salton Sea resulting from regional solutions with broader beneficiaries are appropriately addressed to protect our community.

“IID’s involvement, and particularly that of Imperial Valley growers who will be generating much of this water through voluntary on-farm conservation measures, exemplifies our collective commitment and support that will be paramount in the long-term success of the River.”

Metropolitan General Manager Adel Hagekhalil said: “Each one of these agreements is evidence of what we can achieve when we work together. This collaborative effort, including federal financial support and Metropolitan’s commitment to leave more than 400,000 acre-feet of water in Lake Mead this year, will help stabilize the reservoir while we negotiate longer-term solutions.

“There is much work ahead. Building lasting solutions will take even greater partnership and investment from us all.”

The Water Authority, MWD, and IID have been working together for several months on ways to capitalize on current water supplies. Due to a historically wet year, the State Water Project is delivering complete supplies to MWD, refilling reservoirs, and reducing demand for imported Colorado River water. The MWD Board of Directors approved the agreement in November, and the IID Board followed with its approval on December 1.

How the Water Authority’s Piece Works

The Water Authority will leave 50,000 acre-feet of conserved QSA water in the Colorado River. This helps raise the level of Lake Mead, which has dropped in recent years. The volume is equivalent to the amount of water used in a year by approximately 150,000 single-family homes.

The Water Authority agreed to buy 50,000 acre-feet from MWD to meet current and future demands. The Water Authority’s cost savings result from the difference between the MWD rate and the rate for IID’s conserved water through the QSA. The Bureau of Reclamation will cover the cost of the Water Authority’s QSA supplies left in the river.

 

 

Water Authority Drops Lawsuit Against Water Divorcees

The San Diego County Water Authority’s board voted Thursday to drop a lawsuit the water seller filed in August against two of its customer water districts that are trying to leave and the agency that gave them permission to do so.

After a closed-door deliberation, the Water Authority publicly directed its lawyers to enter into a settlement agreement with Rainbow Municipal Water District, Fallbrook Public Utilities District and the Local Agency Formation Commission or LAFCO – the boundary referees that agreed to allow two of the Water Authority’s customers to divorce from their water seller.