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Santa Fe Irrigation District board members, senior management, and community leaders celebrate SFID's 100th anniversary.

Santa Fe Irrigation District Celebrates a Century of Service

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Community leaders and neighbors joined the Santa Fe Irrigation District in celebrating its 100th anniversary at a “Century of Service” event on June 21. The celebration at the San Dieguito Reservoir recognized SFID’s contributions to the community over the past 100 years and reflected on the water agency’s history and milestones.

In addition to the celebration, SFID received recognition from state and federal officials. Congressman Scott Peters delivered a proclamation for SFID, which is part of his congressional district.

Congressman Mike Levin also recognized the milestone: “Congratulations to the Santa Fe Irrigation District on 100 years of serving our community! As Californians, we all understand the importance of conserving water and the impact droughts have on our daily lives. I’m grateful to have SFID as a partner in the work to strengthen our local water independence.”

California Natural Resources Secretary Wade Crowfoot issued a congratulatory message: “Many thanks to the Santa Fe Irrigation District for 100 years of service. We appreciate this century-long legacy of water service to generations of Californians and look forward to continuing to partner on adjusting to the changing climate by improving water efficiency and diversifying our water supply.”

Evolution of water service as communities grow and thrive

The original Santa Fe Irrigation District office in 1926. Photo: Santa Fe Irrigation District

The original Santa Fe Irrigation District office in 1926. Photo: Santa Fe Irrigation District

In 1923, SFID was established under the California Irrigation District Act of 1887. SFID was originally formed by landowners to provide water service to the area. Residents within the proposed SFID boundaries voted on and approved the creation of the Santa Fe Irrigation District in January 1923. Initially, SFID supplied water to primarily meet agricultural irrigation needs from the Lake Hodges reservoir, its only water source at the time. As the area developed, the District began providing potable water to residential, commercial, and institutional customers.

In 1948, SFID became a member of the San Diego County Water Authority and gained access to imported water supplies from Northern California and the Colorado River.

In 1948, the first Colorado River water flowed into Lake Hodges. This occasion marked the completion of a water line from the San Vicente Reservoir, where the first Colorado River barrel empties into the county water system. Photo: Santa Fe Irrigation District

In 1948, the first Colorado River water flowed into Lake Hodges. This occasion marked the completion of a water line from the San Vicente Reservoir, where the first Colorado River barrel empties into the county water system. Photo: Santa Fe Irrigation District

In November 1948, officials celebrated the completion of a water line from the San Vicente Reservoir, where the first Colorado River barrel empties into the county water system. Pictured above are former Santa Fe Irrigation District members, including (with camera) former board director R.M. Clotfelder, former general manager D.M. Bakewell, and former directors William A. Smart, George Dose, and Harry Porter.

Modernizing safe, reliable water delivery

The Lake Hodges Dam flume, which delivered water from Lake Hodges to SFID, was replaced in 2003 with a new 36-inch transmission pipeline. Use of the historic 75-year-old flume ended. A new Rancho Cielo Raw Water Pump Station located on Del Dios Highway was also placed into service in 2003, providing an alternative means of moving water from Lake Hodges directly to the R.E. Badger Filtration Plant.

The San Dieguito Reservoir was constructed in 1918. This terminal storage reservoir can hold 550-acre feet of raw water. Photo: Santa Fe Irrigation District

During the construction of the Lake Hodges Dam, the San Dieguito Reservoir was also constructed in 1918. This terminal storage reservoir can hold 550-acre feet of raw water. In 1967 the San Dieguito Reservoir Pump Station was built to pump water from the reservoir to the R.E. Badger Filtration Plant.

The Santa Fe Irrigation District owns 150 miles of pipelines and a six-million-gallon treated water reservoir in the City of Solana Beach called Larrick Reservoir. The reservoir was constructed in 1965 and named after H. G. Larrick Sr., a board member from 1941 to 1957.

Today, the District serves approximately 20,000 customers on 10,300 acres of land in three communities: Rancho Santa Fe, Fairbanks Ranch, and the City of Solana Beach.

(Editor’s note: The Santa Fe Irrigation District is one of the San Diego County Water Authority’s 24 member agencies that deliver water across the San Diego County region.) 

Water Authority Responds to LAFCO Commission Vote on Detachment

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July 10, 2023 – Mel Katz, chair of the San Diego County Water Authority’s Board of Directors, issued the following statement in response to today’s decision by the San Diego County Local Area Formation Commission (LAFCO) regarding the proposed detachment of two water agencies from the Water Authority.

“Today’s unprecedented decision by San Diego LAFCO is very disappointing because it will raise water rates for disadvantaged communities, working families, 70% of agriculture in the county, small businesses, and everyone else across our region. We’re deeply concerned that LAFCO decided that water ratepayers across San Diego County don’t get a say in whether Fallbrook and Rainbow can walk away from their bills and shift their costs to the rest of the county.

“It’s also clear that LAFCO failed to study the environmental impacts of its decision, as required by state law – a serious breach of public confidence in a system that’s supposed to protect us all.”

— Mel Katz, Board Chair, San Diego County Water Authority

 

 

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Meet the Colorado River’s Newest – and Youngest – Power Player

/in , , /by /KUNCby Alex Hager

California’s Imperial Valley is one of the few places where a 95 degree day can be described as unseasonably cool.

In the shade of a sissoo tree, with a dry breeze rustling its leaves, JB Hamby called the weather “pretty nice” for mid-June. Over his shoulder, sprinklers ticked away over a field of onions. Every few minutes, a tractor rumbled across the broiling asphalt of a nearby road.

Hamby is a water policy bigwig, especially around these parts. He helps shape policies that define how water is used by arguably the most influential water users along the Colorado River. Hamby holds two jobs – he serves on the board of directors for the Imperial Irrigation District (IID) and was recently appointed to be California’s top water negotiator.

And he’s only 27 years old.

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Northwest Drinking Water Concerns Could Get Worse as the Climate Changes

/in , , /by /Northwest News Networkby Courtney Flatt

Thunderstorms high in the Cascades recently stirred up a lot of dirt in a central Washington river, causing problems for people on its banks.

All the dirt in the Naches River was too much for the city of Yakima’s water treatment plant to handle. Cities and towns could see situations like this happen more often as the climate continues to change.

Climate change will cause more storm runoff, change when snowpack melts and lead to more severe wildfires and harmful algal blooms, said Amanda Hohner. She studies how post-wildfire runoff affects drinking water treatment plants.

“At least in the Western U.S., the effects of wildfire and also climate change are really starting to challenge drinking water treatment plants, resulting in different water quality than maybe those water treatment plants were designed for,” Hohner said.

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Denver Metro Counts its Water Savings After Wet Year

/in , , /by /9News Denverby Kyle Clark

 Mother Nature is being very generous this year.

Record-setting rain totals this year means landowners and municipalities, alike, are enjoying some serious savings on their water bills.

In a press release Thursday, Denver Water said customers hadn’t used this little water in the month of June since 1969. And many reservoirs are full.

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South Coast Water District’s Water, Sewer Rates Set to Increase July 1

/in , , /by /Dana Point Timesby Breeana Greenberg

South Coast Water District ratepayers will see an average increase of 7% in their water rates and a 12% average increase in their sewer rates starting July 1, following a governing board vote on June 22.

On average, starting July 1, residents may see a $5.79 increase in their water bills and an $8.99 increase in their sewer bills, according to South Coast Water.

After holding three public workshops on water, recycled water and sewer rate studies and conducting a revenue needs analysis, the district concluded the rate increase is necessary to provide “financial stability and funding reserves” according to a SCWD staff report.

In a prepared statement, SCWD said the rate increases are the result of the “implementation of critical capital improvement projects, meeting our debt service convergence to maintain our credit rating, and maintaining our reserves to meet the District’s targets.”

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IID Opens New Conservation and Operational Reservoir

/in , , /by /The Desert Review

The Imperial Irrigation District Board of Directors saluted the district’s completion of its newest water conservation and operational reservoir located just east of the city, which will conserve 400 acre-feet of water annually and provide water operational flexibility to growers in the valley’s Northend.

The new operational reservoir, recently dedicated by the IID Board as the Lloyd Allen Water Conservation Operational Reservoir, is the first mid-lateral canal reservoir constructed through IID’s System Conservation Program. It has a total storage capacity of 40 acre-feet and is located along the district’s E Lateral Canal — the longest in the district’s delivery system at 13 miles in length.

In addition to conserving water, the new reservoir supports the district’s On-Farm Efficiency Conservation Program, providing improved water delivery service to growers.

The IID Board visited the site of the new reservoir on Friday, June 30, as part of a larger tour of water operational facilities in the Valley’s Northend.

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Santa Fe Irrigation District Celebrates 100 Years of Service

/in , , /by /Rancho Santa Fe Review

The Santa Fe Irrigation District commemorated its 100-year anniversary at a “Century of Service” celebration on June 21 with community leaders and neighbors.

The district was established in 1923 as a California Special District under the Irrigation District Act of 1887 and currently provides drinking and recycled water services for more than 19,800 residents in the City of Solana Beach, as well as the unincorporated communities of Rancho Santa Fe and Fairbanks Ranch.

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Opinion: One Big Question for San Diegans as La Jolla Considers Leaving is, ‘What About the Water?’

/in , , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribune by Tim Cooper Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

News reports about the campaign for La Jolla to secede from San Diego overlook some basic facts about critical infrastructure that will make or break a Southern California city in the next 30 years. The simple, visible elements like potholes, streetlights and sidewalks are only a tiny fraction of the infrastructure puzzle. The real problem is the water and sewer infrastructure that we don’t see.

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Feds Announce Start of Public Process to Reshape Key Rules on Colorado River Water Use by 2027

/in , , /by /APby Ken Ritter

A public process started Thursday to reshape the way Colorado River water is distributed, with federal officials promising to collect comments about updating and enacting rules in 2027 to continue providing hydropower, drinking water and irrigation to farms, cities and tribes in seven Western U.S. states and Mexico.

The U.S. Interior Department said it will publish in the Federal Register on Friday a call for replacing guidelines that expire in 2026, including pacts enacted in 2007 for states to share cutbacks in water drawn from a river diminished by drought and climate change, as well as operating plans for the key Lake Powell and Lake Mead reservoirs. An agreement between the United States and Mexico on use of Colorado River water also is set to expire at that time.

The department’s U.S. Bureau of Reclamation promised a “robust and transparent public process” beginning with online virtual public meetings July 17, July 18 and July 24. It set an Aug. 15 deadline for receipt of public comments on “specific operational guidelines, strategies and any other issues that should be considered.”

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