San Diego County Water Authority (SDCWA) is a wholesale supplier of water to the roughly western third of San Diego County, California. The Water Authority was formed in 1944 by the California State Legislature. SDCWA serves 24 member agencies with 36 Board of Director members. In addition to local water sources, water is imported from the

Colorado River The Colorado River ( es, Río Colorado) is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and northern Mexico. The river drains an expansive, arid watershed that encompasses parts of seven U.S. s ...

and Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta through The

Metropolitan Water District of Southern California The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California is a regional wholesaler and the largest supplier of treated water in the United States. The name is usually shortened to "Met," "Metropolitan," or "MWD." It is a cooperative of fourteen cit ...

. SDCWA is the sole recipient of fresh water produced by the Claude "Bud" Lewis Carlsbad Desalination Plant.

History

Spanish missionaries in the

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United State ...

area in 1769 noticed that the local water supply was in need of infrastructure, such as

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use ...

s and aqueducts, to increase supply to the area. One of the first water projects in San Diego was the

Old Mission Dam The Old Mission Dam is a historic water impoundment structure in Mission Trails Regional Park in San Diego, California. It was built about 1803 to impound the San Diego River to provide water for irrigation of the fields associated with the Miss ...

which preceded the erection of six privately funded dams between 1887 and 1897, all of which are still exist today. Through an act of California state

legislation Legislation is the process or result of enrolling, enacting, or promulgating laws by a legislature, parliament, or analogous governing body. Before an item of legislation becomes law it may be known as a bill, and may be broadly referred to ...

, the San Diego County water authority was created in 1944 to oversee San Diego County’s water rights over the Colorado River. In 1952 San Diego started receiving water from the State Water Project from pipelines built by SDCWA. The Capital Improvement Program (CIP) was created in 1989 to lower the need for imported water to the region. In 2003 the Quantification Settlement Agreement was signed with the

Imperial Irrigation District The Imperial Irrigation District (IID) is an irrigation district that serves the Imperial Valley in Southern California. Established under the State Water Code, the IID supplies roughly of Imperial Valley farmland with raw Colorado River water ...

, the single largest user of the Colorado River in Southern California. SDCWA funded repairs to leaky canals which included lining canals with concrete. For 110 years, the water district will receive of water via this agreement. In 2015 SDCWA started supplementing their supply with water from the desalination plant in Carlsbad. By 2035 it is projected that local water will meet the region's water demands.

Water sources

San Diego County Water Authority supplies its members both imported and local water resources. Imported water used by SDCWA comes from the Sacramento-San Joaquin rivers through State Water Project aqueducts , and from the

(through the

Colorado River Aqueduct The Colorado River Aqueduct, or CRA, is a water conveyance in Southern California in the United States, operated by the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD). The aqueduct impounds water from the Colorado River at Lake Hav ...

). California is one of seven states which receive water from The Colorado River. Around 17% of the water supplied through SDCWA comes from the State Water Project. Local sources from the

Metropolitan Water District The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California is a regional wholesaler and the largest supplier of treated water in the United States. The name is usually shortened to "Met," "Metropolitan," or "MWD." It is a cooperative of fourteen cit ...

include

recycled water Water reclamation (also called wastewater reuse, water reuse or water recycling) is the process of converting municipal wastewater (sewage) or industrial wastewater into water that can be reused for a variety of purposes. Types of reuse include: ...

groundwater Groundwater is the water present beneath Earth's surface in rock and soil pore spaces and in the fractures of rock formations. About 30 percent of all readily available freshwater in the world is groundwater. A unit of rock or an unconsolidated ...

pumping, and

desalinated water Desalination is a process that takes away mineral components from saline water. More generally, desalination refers to the removal of salts and minerals from a target substance, as in soil desalination, which is an issue for agriculture. Saltw ...

from the Carlsbad Desalination Plant. The Carlsbad desalination plant can supply up to of water. The rates are among the highest in Southern California.

Governance

Current Projects

SDCWA officials are currently working at the state and federal level to maintain the latest knowledge of legislative decisions affecting San Diego's water supply. The Capital Improvement Program (CIP) has been an ongoing project since 1989 and works to establish infrastructure to support regional water needs. A current project of CIP is the $1.5 billion Emergency and Carryover Storage Project which is a fail-safe plan in case of a lapse in imported water supply. The Emergency and Carryover Storage Project consists of dams, reservoirs, pipelines, and

pumping station Pumping stations, also called pumphouses in situations such as drilled wells and drinking water, are facilities containing pumps and equipment for pumping fluids from one place to another. They are used for a variety of infrastructure system ...

s to ensure continued supply to the region. In efforts to supplement imported water supply, SDCWA helped to facilitate the opening of the Claude "Bud" Lewis Carlsbad Desalination Plant in 2015. Currently the largest desalination plant world wide, producing 50 million gallons of water every day. In January 2020, the 2020 Urban Water Management Plan was developed with 6 elements outlining future forecast, savings, supply and reliability, and planning and shortage analysis in the region that SDCWA manages.

Consumer Programs

SDCWA has water saving incentive programs for both residential and commercial consumers.

Residential Programs

Residential programs include water saving tips for both indoor and outdoor uses, as well as gardening demonstrations. Residential incentives include rebates for high-efficiency washers and toilets for indoor use, and rebates on sprinkler nozzles, rain barrels, and turf replacement for outdoor water use.

Business Programs

For businesses, the SDCWA has incentives including both indoor and outdoor water efficiency rebates and programs including their community partnering program run through the Metropolitan Water Districts Innovative Conservation Program (ICP). ICP does work to evaluate water saving technology and their efficiencies. The ICP provides funding with the help of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (USBR), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA),

Southern Nevada Water Authority The Southern Nevada Water Authority (SNWA) is a government agency that was founded in 1991 to manage Southern Nevada's water needs on a regional basis in Clark County. SNWA provides wholesale water treatment and delivery for the greater Las Vegas ...

(SNWA), the

Central Arizona Project The Central Arizona Project (CAP) is a 336 mi (541 km) diversion canal in Arizona in the southern United States. The aqueduct diverts water from the Colorado River to the Bill Williams Wildlife Refuge south portion of Lake Havasu ne ...

(CAP), the

Southern California Gas Company The Southern California Gas Company (trading as SoCalGas) is a utility company based in Los Angeles, California, and a subsidiary of Sempra Energy. It is the primary provider of natural gas to Los Angeles and Southern California. Overview Its ...

, and Western Resource Advocates.

Contractor Programs

For contractors the SDCWA has a WaterSmart Contractor Incentive Program (WSCIP), where participants can purchase water saving devices to use in their watering systems.

Educational Programs

SDCWA also runs water conservation programs in both educational and practical applications.

References

External links

Official San Diego County Water Authority website
{{Authority control Government of San Diego County, California Water management authorities in California Water companies of the United States County government agencies in California