For more than 80 years, the San Diego County Water Authority has risen to the challenge of providing safe and reliable water supplies to meet the needs of a thriving region. The agency’s investments in water security paid big dividends over the past decade, minimizing the economic fallout from two droughts in the early 2000s and eliminating impacts altogether during an epic drought that ended in 2023.
In the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2024, the Water Authority maintained its leadership position in the water industry by facing new challenges with creativity, connection and commitment. The year represented the start of a new era for the agency — an era which water managers have to plan for depressed water demand created by back-to-back wet years, while also ensuring that we have a reliable supply of water during the foreseeable years of too little water.
The year included the formation of a new executive team to lead the agency, along with a historic first — an exchange agreement on the Colorado River that provided millions of dollars in savings for the Water Authority while also helping to sustain the depleted Colorado River. That agreement — in partnership with the Metropolitan Water District, the Imperial Irrigation District, and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation — in many ways marks the dawn of a new day in the agency’s history. It was followed by an MOU to investigate a different kind of deal — the sale of supplies from the nation’s largest seawater plant to a retail water agency in Orange County.
Gone are the days when the San Diego region was locked in intractable struggles with other agencies. Today, the Water Authority seeks to partner with its neighbors in ways that support local water ratepayers and also achieve a greater good by making water available when and where it’s needed. In addition, the Water Authority aggressively pursued grants, securing more than $19 million for environmental upgrades at the Carlsbad Desalination Plant.
While the Water Authority’s era of large new investments is over, the agency is focused on ensuring the region’s 308-miles of large-diameter pipelines and more than 1,600 associated facilities remain in good shape so that we are flexible and resilient — regardless of what the climate brings. FY24 included the launch of a major capital improvement project running 21 miles through three cities in addition to unincorporated land — all to make sure that our aquatic lifeline continues to sustain future generations. The Southern First Aqueduct Facilities Improvement Project includes some of the most extensive renovation projects in the Water Authority’s 80-year history. It is designed to reduce the long-term cost of system maintenance by making upgrades before failures occur and cause costly urgent repairs or leave communities without reliable water supplies.
The Water Authority’s focus on water affordability extends across the board, as upward pressure on water rates from factors outside the Water Authority’s control has created challenges for ratepayers. The Water Authority is working collaboratively with member agencies, its wholesale water provider, state agencies, the federal government, and the community to identify, advocate for, and implement affordability strategies.
With those efforts and more, the Water Authority is not only leading through change but redefining water management for the next generation of San Diegans.
