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Jeff Stephenson-Director of Water Resources-planning-San Diego County Water Authority

Jeff Stephenson is New Director of Water Resources for San Diego County Water Authority

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Jeff Stephenson has been appointed director of water resources for the San Diego County Water Authority, where he leads the department responsible for regional water supply planning and long-term facilities planning.

Stephenson brings more than 27 years of experience at the Water Authority to fill the position vacated by the department’s previous director, Kelley Gage, who was appointed assistant general manager in August. Stephenson served as acting director of the Water Resources Department for the past three months, and previously served as a water resources manager in the department.

The Water Authority is a regional wholesale water agency that provides about 80% of the water used in San Diego County, sustaining a $268 billion economy and quality of life for 3.3 million residents.

“Jeff’s expertise and dedication at the Water Authority for nearly three decades has benefited the region and the state,” said Water Authority General Manager Dan Denham. “His management experience and knowledge from his years at the Water Authority will be crucial as we work with our partners to manage our most precious natural resource.”

Stephenson-Jeff Stephenson-Director of Water Resources-San Diego County Water Authority

Jeff Stephenson has been appointed director of water resources for the San Diego County Water Authority, where he leads the department responsible for regional water supply planning and long-term facilities planning. Photo: San Diego County Water Authority

Stephenson brings expertise and experience

Stephenson started with the agency in 1996, working in the Water Resources Department. He has managed the Water Authority’s water-use efficiency group, supply planning group, and water policy group.

Stephenson also represented the agency in many high-profile technical advisory groups with the California Public Utilities Commission, Bureau of Reclamation, and Department of Water Resources, and he is a trusted leader in the water industry. He holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from California State University, San Bernardino and a Master of Public Administration degree from San Diego State University.

In addition to water supply planning and long-term facilities planning, the Water Resources Department also administers the water shortage and drought response program; provides member agency assistance in local supply development; engages in regulatory advocacy and regulation development; manages Water Authority involvement in the San Diego Integrated Regional Water Management Plan and grants administration; administers the water purchase agreement for the Carlsbad Desalination Plant; and ensures environmental regulatory compliance of Water Authority programs and projects.

(Editor’s Note: For more information about the Water Authority’s leadership team, go to: www.sdcwa.org/about-us/departments-leadership/.)

Celebrating 79 Years of Engineering at the San Diego County Water Authority

/in , , /by /Water News Networkby Noah Harrel, Andrea Mora, and Ed Joyce Quoted: San Diego County Water Authority

The San Diego County Water Authority is celebrating National Engineers Week by highlighting how the agency’s engineers are instrumental in keeping the water flowing to San Diegans. Since the Water Authority’s formation in 1944, engineers have played a pivotal role in the establishment and growth of the agency and its commitment to delivering safe, reliable water supplies to San Diego.

(Editor’s Note: Founded by the National Society of Professional Engineers, National Engineers Week (February 19–25, 2023) is dedicated to ensuring a diverse and well-educated future engineering workforce by increasing understanding of and interest in engineering and technology careers.)

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Water Managers Bracing for the Worst

/in , , /by /Escalon Timesby Dennis Wyatt

New Melones Reservoir — critical to Escalon farmland, as well as Manteca, Lathrop, and Tracy water supplies — was at 616,704 acre feet on Oct. 6.

That’s less than half the average 1,326,146 acre feet of water storage for the date of Oct. 5.

To put that in perspective, it is 47 percent of the average in storage for the start of a new California water year that officially started on Oct. 1.

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Water Authority Kicks Off 2023 Water Facilities Master Plan Update

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November 2, 2021 – The San Diego County Water Authority has begun crafting its 2023 Water Facilities Master Plan Update and will advertise for professional service support in early November following an update last week to the Board of Directors. The plan, updated every 10 years, will lay out strategies to optimize Water Authority facilities to serve the region under a range of future conditions through the 2045 planning horizon.

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Opinion: Socal’s Water Planning Offers Lesson for State

/in , , /by /Los Angeles Daily News

Another historic drought has gripped the West and California, with the entire state facing abnormally dry conditions and 87% of it facing an extreme drought, according to the latest federal data. Yet Southern Californians are in far better shape to handle the situation than Northern Californians thanks to policies that southern water agencies have adopted.

Two-thirds of the state’s rain falls in Northern California, which has one-third of the state’s population — and vice versa. Yet many northern cities are running out of water, with several San Francisco Bay Area communities already adopting water rationing and water-use restrictions. This isn’t happenstance, but the result of planning — or lack thereof.

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How to Beat the Drought? Inland Empire Water Agency Wants to Make it Rain

/in , , /by /The Press-Enterpriseby Steve Scauzillo

Programs from the drought-busting handbook practiced by Southern California water agencies include recycling water, building storm-water capture basins and offering cash rebates for replacing thirsty lawns with xeriscape landscaping.

With the grip from a second year of drought tightening, a regional water-planning agency in the Inland Empire is moving ahead for the first time in its history with a more controversial program: cloud seeding.

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Interior Secretary: Drought Demands Investment, Conservation

/in , , /by /ABC Newsby Patty Nieberg

Confronting the historic drought that has a firm grip on the American West requires a heavy federal infrastructure investment to protect existing water supplies but also will depend on efforts at all levels of government to reduce demand by promoting water efficiency and recycling, Interior Secretary Deb Haaland said Thursday.

Haaland told reporters in Denver that the Biden administration’s proposed fiscal year 2022 budget includes a $1.5 billion investment in the Bureau of Reclamation, which manages water and power in the Western states, and more than $54 million for states, tribes and communities to upgrade infrastructure and water planning projects.

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In the West, Signs in the Snow Warn That a 20-Year Drought Will Persist and Intensify

/in , , /by /Inside Climate Newsby Bob Berwyn and Judy Fahys

Lack of monsoon rainfall last summer and spotty snowfall this winter combined to worsen the Western drought dramatically in the past year, and spring snowmelt won’t bring much relief. Critical April 1 measurements of snow accumulations from mountain ranges across the region show that most streams and rivers will once again flow well below average levels this year, stressing ecosystems and farms and depleting key reservoirs that are already at dangerously low levels.

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Rural Valley Cities Secure Permanent Water Supply in Deal with Feds

/in , /by /The Sunby Daniel Gligich

Three rural Valley cities finalized deals with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to cement permanent access to water from the Central Valley Project on Monday, the Federal bureau announced. The cities of Avenal, Coalinga, and Huron converted their water contracts with Federal water authorities along with Firebaugh-based Pacheco Water District and Panoche Water District, and Los Banos-based San Luis Water District. The move signals an end to negotiations that took over a year and a half to complete.

 

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Opinion: Arizona Water Blueprint Aids Informed Water Planning

/in , /by /Arizona Capitol Timesby Sarah Porter and Susan Craig

Water is Arizona’s most precious natural resource. Yet, despite its importance, few Arizonans actually understand where their water is sourced.

If someone asked you to identify Arizona’s three major water sources, could you name them? Could you explain why tens of thousands of Arizonans don’t have certainty about their long-term water supplies?

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