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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

Water Agencies Explore Innovative Transfer Deal for Drought-Resilient Water

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For the second time in recent months, the San Diego County Water Authority is considering an innovative water transfer that could eventually deliver drought-resilient water supplies to South Orange County through the Moulton Niguel Water District and help combat increasing water rates for San Diegans.

Both districts have signed a Memorandum of Understanding MOU to begin discussions centering on the Water Authority transferring water supplies to Moulton Niguel, including from the Claude “Bud” Lewis Carlsbad Desalination Plant.

Agency leaders will determine the details, including when and how a transfer might take place.

The Moulton Niguel Water District serves more than 170,000 customers from Laguna Niguel to San Juan Capistrano.

Previous water transfer deal offers template

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 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

In December, the Water Authority completed a similar agreement to transfer water with the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California and the Imperial Irrigation District. It saves the Water Authority between $15 million and $20 million while helping to raise the level of Lake Mead.

“The San Diego region’s investments in water supply reliability are being used to protect local ratepayers from rising costs while offering solutions that benefit the entire Southwest,” said Water Authority Board Chair Mel Katz. “We appreciate Moulton Niguel’s vision to explore this concept and we look forward to fashioning a mutually beneficial agreement.”

Moulton Niguel’s 2020 Long Range Water Reliability Plan and Water Reliability Policy prioritize the development and phased addition of new drought-proof water supplies to sustain its service area during droughts, which have hit California with increasing frequency over the past three decades.

“Our Board is committed to making cost-effective investments to enhance water supplies that benefit our service area in dry years, and a potential partnership with the Water Authority is another piece of that plan. In the era of climate extremes, it’s in everyone’s best interest to find partnerships that maintain our economy and quality of life,” said Moulton Niguel Board President Duane D. Cave.

Diverse water portfolio provides water reliability

Over the past 20 years, the Water Authority has developed a nationally recognized portfolio of drought-resilient water supplies, including the nation’s largest seawater desalination plant in Carlsbad. Completed in 2015, the facility produces up to 56,000 acre-feet of water a year, meeting about 10% of the region’s water demand.

San Diego region’s per capita water use has dropped by more than 50% during the same time. The reduction in water use by consumers allows the Water Authority to collaborate with other water providers on solutions to climate-induced supply challenges.

 

Sacramento City Council Approves Water Sale for Up to $5 Million

/in , /by /ABC 10by Carley Gomez

While the state of California is in its third year of drought, the Sacramento City Council has approved the sale of up to $5 million worth of water from the Sacramento and American Rivers.

Carlos Eliason, spokesperson for the City of Sacramento Department of Utilities, said there is about 16,500 acre feet of surface water on our rivers. The city council approved to drop the 10,000 acre feet of input, or about 3.26 billion gallons of water, and divert it to state contractors and the Santa Clara Valley Water District.

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Opinion: We Must Fix the Salton Sea. And, Yes, Water Transfer is One Hope

/in , /by /The Desert Sunby Bob Terry

In his recent Your Turn column, Alexander Schriener wrote that we need to focus on viable solutions for the ailing Salton Sea. I’d like to address some of the points made in that column.

“The Salton Sea is going through the natural evolution …,” Schriener wrote. There is nothing natural about farm chemicals. This is an intensely farmed region where the preferred means of disposing of these toxins is to use half as much water as the irrigation required simply to flush these chemicals into the sea, two or three times a year for over 100 years.

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City Approves Framework For Potential Water Transfer Agreement With SMWD

/in , /by /The Capistrano Dispatch (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.)by Shawn Raymundo

The city’s plans to annex its utilities department took another step forward Tuesday, Aug. 20, as councilmembers approved a framework that will be the basis for a potential agreement to have Santa Margarita Water District take over water and sewer services in San Juan Capistrano. With Councilmember Derek Reeve absent from the meeting, the council unanimously voted in favor of certifying the Memorandum of Understanding that outlines the major deal points of what will eventually be part of an official annexation agreement and application for approval by the Orange County Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO).

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Water Transfer Between Reservoirs Set To Generate Cost Savings For South Bay Customers

/in , /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby David Hernandez Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

The water gushed from a valve near the base of the Loveland Reservoir’s dam at 146,300 gallons per minute, cascading into the Sweetwater River below. The impressive sight near Alpine — which occurred, purposely, at 10:30 a.m. on Feb. 15 — marked the start of an ongoing transfer of water from the Loveland Reservoir to the Sweetwater Reservoir, where the water will be treated by the Sweetwater Authority and later supplied to the water agency’s customers in National City, Chula Vista and Bonita.

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