HomeMy WebLinkAbout1997-07-15; Municipal Water District; 374; Update of the Proposed Water TransferCARLSBAd MUNICIPAL WATER DISTRkT -AGENDA BILL
4B# 2kw DEPT. I-ID. e. TITLE: UPDATE OF THE PROPOSED WATER
MTG. 7/l 5197 TRANSFER BETWEEN THE SAN DIEGO
COUNTY WATER AUTHORITY (CWA) AND CITY ATTY.
DEPT. CMWD . THE IMPERIAL IRRIGATION DISTRICT (IID) CITY MGR.
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
This is an informational item only. No action requested.
ITEM EXPLANATION:
A representative from San Diego County Water Authority (CWA) will update the Board on
Imperial Irrigation District (IID) issues. The CWA has entered into a Memorandum of
Understanding (MOU) to develop a water transfer agreement for at least 200,000 acre feet of
water from the Imperial Valley. This MOU is supposed to detail the amount of water to be
transferred, the terms of the agreement, the price of the water to be transferred and an
enforcement mechanism.
Should the CWA be successful in obtaining a water transfer agreement with IID, the water
purchased from Metropolitan could be substantially reduced thereby decreasing the revenue
necessary to fund Met’s capital improvement program, a program that would still benefit the
CWA, as well as the other Met agencies. As a result, the CWA made a proposal to Metropolitan
at a special Board of Directors meeting on April 30, 1996. A summary of that proposal is as
follows:
l Authority commits to purchase from Met a minimum of 400,000 acre feet per year.
l Commencing after 2010, Authority would deliver to Met for transport through the
Colorado River Aqueduct (CRA) up to an additional 200,000 acre feet per year in
exchange for delivery by Met of equivalent amounts on a space-available basis.
l Cost of exchange water delivery is variable because fixed costs should be covered by
annual “requirement” purchases and Met “premium” water charges.
l Met would put in place contracts for agricultural water discounts.
l Met would support Authority transfer facility and Authority willingness to discuss storage
opportunities.
l Support for River re-operation and banking per California position.
l Provisions for dispute resolution.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no fiscal impact.
EXHIBIT:
None.
Sew-Oiego County Water bthority
A Public Agency
NEWS
3211 Fifth Avenue l San Diego, California 921034718
(619) 682-4100 FAX (619) 692-9356
Contact : Mark Stadler (619) 682-4129
(619) 586-1712, home or Doug Elmets
(916) 329-9180
July 1, 1997
Aosembly committee supports water transfer legislation
Sacramento -- Legislation designed to encourage the transfer of
conserved agricultural water from the Imperial Irrigation District to
the San Diego County Water Authority today passed the Assembly Water,
Parks and Wildlife Committee by a 13-1 vote.
SB 1082, authored by Sen. David G. Kelley, requires the director
of the State Department of Water Resources to recommend terms and
conditions under which the Authority may use the Colorado River
Aqueduct to convey the transferred water to San Diego County.
‘A water transfer will help the San Diego region meet its daily
water needs and provide an insurance policy against the impact of
future droughts," said Chris Frahm, chair of the Authority board.
SB 1082 unanimously passed the State Senate May 22.
The San Diego County Water Authority, a public agency, works
through its 24 member agencies to provide a safe, reliable water
supply to more than 2.6 million county residents.
#
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San Diego County Water Authority
A Public Agency
NEWS
3211 Fifth Avenue l San Diego, California 92103-5718
(619) 682-4100 FAX (619) 692-9356
contact: Janice Collins
(619) 682-4128
(619) 541-1163, home
or
Mark Stadler
(619) 682-4129
(619) 586-1712
June 27.1997
San Diego County Water Authority and
Imperial Irrigation District talks resume
The Imperial Irrigation District (IJD) and the San Diego County Water Authority today
resumed negotiations on the potential transfer of Colorado River water from lID to the
Authority.
“The five-hour session was highlighted by updating facilitator Abraham Sofaer on
Colorado River issues, particularly those concerning the IID and Authority talks,” said Maureen
Stapleton, the Authority’s general manager. Sofaer is a retired judge and Middle East negotiator.
In addition, negotiators discussed the comments received during both agencies’ public
input periods, which resulted from the release of a summary of draft terms in July 1996.
“We want to ensure we have a clear understanding of the issues the public has raised both
in the Imperial Valley and San Diego County,” said Mike Clinton, IID’s general manager.
(more)
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MEMBER AGENCIES
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To further clarify and add&s public input, the negotiators have scheduled three more
meetings during the next two weeks.
The Authority and IID last year agreed to draft terms for a program that would begin in
1999 and last for a minimum of 75 years. Future negotiations will build on the draft terms.
Under those terms, IID would transfer at least 200,000 acre-feet of water to San Diego County
by 2008.
The San Diego County Water Authority, a public agency, works through its 24 member
agencies to provide a safe, reliable water supply to more than 2.6 million county residents.
###
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Son Diego County Wuter Authority
A Public Agency
3211 Fifth Avenue l Son Diego, California 92103-5718
(619) 682-4100 FAX (619) 297-0511
Water transfer discussions between
San Diego County and Imperial Valley
The San Diego County Water Authority and the Imperial Irrigation District (IID) have
released a summary of the draft terms for a potential long-term transfer of conserved water
from the lmperial Valley to the San Diego region. Neither IID nor the Authority is bound by
the summary of draft terms. When the review is complete, Authority staff will report to
their board of directors about the comments they have received from the public and seek
further direction from the board.
Under the draft terms, IID would begin making conserved Colorado River water available
to the Authority in 1999; initial deliveries would total 20,000 acre-feet and increase
afterward to a minimum of 200,000 acre-feet annually. The water would cost $200 per acre-
foot; the price would increase by about 5 percent annually to $306 in 2008. The transfer
contract would last 125 years.
Copies of the summary of draft terms, which includes all the details of the proposed
agreement, are available at the Water Authority’s two offices, 3211 Fifth Ave. in San Diego
and 610 West Fifth Ave. in Escondido, at other local water providers and at public libraries.
The Authority entered into the discussions because it has an obligation to San Diego County
residents to evaluate water resource alternatives that are potentially reliable and prudent.
The region’s $67 billion annual economy, job base and quality of life depend on securing
long-term, diversified water supply.
The Authority’s dealings are solely with IID, not individual landowners. IlD holds all the
Colorado River rights within its service area.
San Diego County typically imports 90 percent of its water supply through the Metropolitan
Water District of Southern California (MWD). In 1991, MWD reduced its deliveries by 31
percent because of drought. In addition, the county’s water supply is subject to total cutoff
during an earthquake that severs imported water pipelines and to cost increases from MWD
over which the Authority has little control.
A water transfer agreement with IID potentially may help San Diego County to:
l Secure a long-term, reliable water supply.
l Reduce its reliance on a single water supply (MWD).
l Establish an “insurance policy” against the impact of drought.
l Stabilize the cost of a significant portion of its water.
MEMBER AGENCIES
CITIES IRRIGATION OGWCTS WATER DlSYRKn
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l The Authority calculates that it will spend up to $8 billion to maintain a safe, reliable water
supply over the next 25 years. Authority directors must decide how they will invest that
money. They may continue to invest ail of the money in MWD or they may choose to invest
in alternative water supplies - including water transfers - independent of MWD.
l The Authority is analyzing methods of conveying transfer water from the Imperial Valley to
San Diego County. These studies center around use of the Colorado River Aqueduct, which
is owned and operated by MWD. The Authority also is examining the feasibility of building
a new facility linking San Diego County and the Colorado River.
l There may be sufficient capacity in MWD’s water delivery system to convey transfer water
for the Authority to San Diego County. About half of MWD’s system capacity is idle at
present. Moreover, while the Colorado River Aqueduct’s capacity is more than 1.2 million
acre-feet, MWD’s firm entitlement to Colorado River water is 550,000 acre-feet. The rest of
the aqueduct’s deliveries represent surplus water or unused water that belongs to other
states. As these states take more of their Colorado River entitlements, M’WTYs diversions
will decrease and additional delivery capacity will be available.
l The Authority intends to remain MWD’s largest water customer and as such has offered to
commit to purchase a large portion of its future supplies from MWD. In exchange, the
Authority would be able to use capacity in the MWD system to deliver water that the
Authority purchases from others, including IID.
l San Diego County is vitally concerned about MWD issues. A transfer agreement between
the Authority and TID has the potential to help the other MWD member agencies have a
more secure water supply by reducing the growing demand on MWD’s limited sources.
l An Authority-ITD transfer agreement would be consistent with MWJYs plan for water
resource development in urban Southern California. hOVD encourages its member agencies
to develop water sources independent of the distrkt; most of the member agencies are
doing just that.
l Consideration of a water transfer agreement with Ill3 is compatible with the Authority’s
own plans, which state that the Authority should fully evaluate transfers as a way to meet
San Diego County’s future water needs. The Authority has evaluated several resource
options both within and outside of San Dego County and California, and will continue to
do so as possibilities arise.
l An Authority-m) transfer agreement may potentially benefit the entire state. If it makes San
Diego County’s water supply more reliable and stimulates the Imperial Valley’s economy, it
may strengthen the Southern California economy. If it provides a Southern California
solution for a Southern California water supply problem, it may help relieve growing
reliance on the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta for water.
l Some agencies and individuals have questioned aspects of the possible Authority-IID
transfer agreement. These concerns are in the areas of cost, water delivery options, quality,
reliability of supply and environmental issues. The Authority recognizes these questions
and is actively pursuing the answers as it evaluates the potential transfer.
SEPTEMBER 1996
San Diego County Water Authority
A Public Agency
3211 Fifth Avenue l San Dieao, California 92103-5718
(619) 682-4100 FAk i619) 297-0511
Fact sheet
Response to MWD proposal on
use of facilities to transfer water
l The proposal issued Nov. 19.1996, by the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD)
concerns use by the San Diego County Water Authority of h4WD facilities to convey transfer water.
This proposal represents an opportunity for MWD and the Authority to move forward toward an
agreement that will give both San Diego County and the Southern Califomia ngion a more reliable
water supply.
l The Authority is discussing a proposed water agreement with the Imperial Irrigation District (IID) that
would involve conserved Colorado River water. The water would be delivered most efficiently through
MWD’s Colorado River Aqueduct, which carries water from the Colorado River to coastal Southern
California.
0 The framework outlined in MWD’S proposal aclmowledges that:
l Delivery of water resulting from an Authority-IID transfer program in quantities of 200,000
acre-feet or more is feasible.
l A transfer between IID and the Authority would benefit MWD’s service area, which includes
San Diego, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, Los Angeles and Ventura counties.
l Resolution of an Authority-KID transfer would help California to limit its consumption of
Colorado River water within its entitlement.
l The Authority board of directors voted unanimously to continue discussions with MWD and respond to
MWD’s framework. This response centers on three areas: the amount of water to be transferred,
payments by the Authority to cover its share of MWD’s fixed costs and for using MWD facilities to
convey (or wheel) transfer water, and efforts to change the way the Colorado River is operated.
Water transfer total
l MWD’s framework provides for the Authority to transfer 200,ooO acre-feet of water annually. About
half of this total could result from an existing transfer agreement between MWD and IID, which
produces about 106,000 acre-feet per year through extraordinary conservation. The Authority would
have to reimburse MWD for its $130 million investment in the conservation measures. The agreement
allows the Coachella Valley Water District (CTWD) to take up to 50,000 acre-feet annually of the
conserved water under certain diversion limits from the river by lID and CVWD.
l The Authority will evaluate the existing MWD-IID agreement. Before deciding whether to pursue the
offer, the Authority wants h4WD to assume any potential reductions in the 106,ooO acre-feet when
CVWD takes water. In addition, the Authority as h4WD’s largest customer has financially supported
the MWD-IID agreement over the years. ‘Ibe Authority proposes that h4WD credit these payments to
the Authority and subtract them from the total bill for the MWD-IID transfer program.
MEMBER AGENCIES
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l An Authority-JID agreement would bring additional water to Southern California and serve as an
important step toward assuring other basin states that California is committed to limiting use of the
Colorado River to its entitlements. Water from the MWD-IID program, on the other hand, already has
been accounted for within the region’s Colorado River entitlements. For this reason, the Authority
proposes that it secure 200,000 acre-feet of transfer water annually from IID. Assumption of the
MWD-IID program would be in addition to Authority-IID water, bringing the potential transfer total to
306,000 acre-feet per year.
l Delivery of all transfer water would be accomplished according to detailed terms and conditions for
water quality, conveyance and storage operating criteria, drought management and shortage allocation
provisions to ensure that a transfer will increased the reliable water supply for the Authority and
MWD’s other member agencies.
Fixed cost coverage
l The MWD framework calls for the Authority to fully cover its share of MWD’s fixed costs to assure
that the Authority-IID transfer does not adversely affect MWD water rates. The Authority proposes to
accomplish this through:
l A fixed percentage payment of the annual debt service and the costs of MWD’s current capital
improvement program (UP).
l Commodity charges on water purchased annually by the Authority.
l Wheeling charges reduced appropriately to reflect fixed payments made by the Authority for
the CIP and credits corresponding to the regional benefits of the Authority-m> transfer.
l The Authority will work with MWD to determine what the Authority’s fair share of costs should be,
and to calculate a dollar figure for how an Authority-RID transfer would benefit the region. MWD
‘would credit this amount to the proposed transfer cost.
Water banking and Colorado River reoperations
l Changes in the way the federal Bureau of Reclamation operates the Colorado river, including
provisions for banking of water in reservoirs, are critical to maximizing the efficient use of river water
in a way that will benefit the region and California. The Authority consistently has supported the
efforts of California’s Colorado River contractors to negotiate a unified position on these issues. The
Authority proposes to work with MWD to develop and accomplish banking and reoperation proposals
that are supported by California’s other Colorado River contractors as well as by the other six states
that take water from the river.
Timeframe
l To maintain the momentum of these discussions, the Authority and MWD should immediately work to
establish a timeframe for completing negotiations and developing detailed terms and conditions that
could lead to an agreement. Both agencies recognize that a water transfer of this magnitude has
important regional implications, and that provisions of a more detailed agreement are subject to review
and input from their boards of directors and member agencies.
December 1996
*
San Diego County Water Authorify
VOLUME 10 NUMBER 3 SUMMER 1997
/wide this issue:
3
Water Savvy’
San Diego
45 Developing
m local water
7 News of note from
water agencies
THE WATER
AUTHORITY EXPANDED
AND IMPROVED SERVCE
TO SAN DIEGO COUNTY
RESIDENTS WHEN IT
BEGAN DELIVERING
WATER THROUGH A
NEW PIPELINE EARLIER
THIS YEAR.
Pipeline 4 cost $250
million and reaches
more than 30 miles
south from its starting
point in Mira Mesa. It
carries filtered water,
leaving Pipeline 3 to
deliver unfiltered water
to reservoirs in the area.
Pipeline 4 supple-
ments and extends exist-
ing Authority facilities.
When combined with these other facilities, it
forms the second Authority pipeline to stretch
through the county, from the Riverside
County line in the north to Lower Otay
Reservoir in the south.
“Completion of the Pipeline 4 project
marks a major milestone in the Authority’s
Capital Improvement Program (CIP) ,” says
John Economides, director of the the
Authority Engineering Department.
“Having two pipelines that go all the way
to the Lower Otay Reservoir fulfills one of our
primary goals with the CIP - to make our
water deliveries more reliable throughout our
service area.”
Continued on page 6
Groups honor science lab, construction projects ~
Water Authority projects recently earned
recognition from two organizations.
The Association of California Water
Agencies (ACWA) gave its 1997 Clair A. Hill
Water Agency Award to the Authority’s Splash
Science Mobile Lab, which brings information
about water quality and related topics to San
Diego County schools.
The San Diego chapter of the American
Society of Civil Engineers recognized the
Authority twice. The society named the Mission
Trails Pipeline and Flow Regulatory Structure
its outstanding civil engineering water supply
project for 1997 and gave an award of merit in
its water supply category to the North County
Distribution Pipeline.
ACWA commended the Authority for its
“visionary” Splash science mobile lab, a cooper-
ative venture with the San Diego County Offrce
of Education that has been booked nearly
every school day since it began operations. The
Authority paid $55,000 to retrofit the 50-foot
tractor-trailer.
Continued on page 6
P “\ . I
2 WaterTalk
From the General Manager
1 Authority acts to
minimize impacts
I on environment
The Water Authority must be con-
cerned with more than materials, equip-
ment, personnel and schedules when it
builds pipelines and improves existing
facilities that are essential to San Diego
County’s water supply. The Authority
also must consider the environmental
impacts of such activities as well.
We take this responsibility quite
seriously. Our effort in this ~~
area begins with a detailed
environmental review to
ensure a project is practical ~--
impacts, show how we plan to alleviate
them and monitor the mitigation, we
may not get the permits we need to put
vital facilities into place. At the very
least, the work will be delayed and con-
struction costs will rise.
The Authority works to avoid
and/or minimize several types of envi-
ronmental impacts. The most familiar
category is biological - effects on
wildlife, particularly those species that
are on the threatened or endangered
list. Twenty-three plant species and 25
animal species in our service area are on
those lists.
Construction projects also may
affect cultural or paleontological
resources. For instance, we decided to
Environmental
1 I and minimizes damage to
i wildlife and habitats. We analysis has become
also draw up a plan for
monitoring the results of an essential part of the
j mitigation programs to
make sure they work as
planned. process to build water ~~~t~~~ zv$
Environmental mitiga- for the Mission Trails
tion and monitoring pro- delivery and storage Pipeline to avoid
grams are important for sev-
eral reasons. Federal and
state law require an agency
to objectively analyze the
potential environmental
impacts of a proposed project. Before
securing required permits, the agency
must identify how it plans to avoid sig-
nificant adverse environmental impacts,
if practical, or minimize them.
Environmental review and mitiga-
tion also are important because they
meet community needs. People in San
Diego County and elsewhere have indi-
cated at the ballot box and in public
opinion surveys that they strongly sup-
port actions to protect our environmen-
tal resources.
Environmental analysis has become
an essential part of the process to build
water delivery and storage facilities (as
well as any other construction project,
of course). Unless we identify potential
remains of the his
facilities toric Mission Flume
and also riparian
woods that are habi-
tat for the
endangered least Bell’s vireo.
Other areas that may be affected by
projects include land use, visual
resources, socioeconomics, noise and
recreation.
The best example of an Authority
environmental mitigation and moni-
toring program involves the coastal
California gnatcatcher. Many of the
Authority’s recent and ongoing
pipeline construction projects are in
areas dotted by coastal sage scrub,
which is home to gnatcatchers, among
other species.
In the early 1990s before the tiny
blue-gray songbird was officially listed
as threatened, we worked with the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service to draw up a
strategy that would allow our capital
projects to continue with minimized
impacts on the gnatcatcher.
This strategy begins prior to con-
struction. We survey the project area
for the presence of gnatcatchers and
coastal sage scrub. On most projects
we are able to avoid construction work
during gnatcatcher breeding season
between February and August. After
the pipe is laid, we restore the topsoil
and sow fresh seed so coastal sage
scrub will return. Then we control
weeds and monitor the plants’
progress for two years, until they are
established once again.
We supplement this on-site mitiga-
tion with work away from the construc-
tion area. For this purpose, Authority
directors voted in 1994 to purchase
261 acres of prime coastal sage scrub
habitat in eastern San Diego County
that has been reserved in perpetuity as
a home for the gnatcatcher and other
species. The Crestridge Habitat
Management Area, as it is called,
meets the federal government’s
requirement for gnatcatcher mitiga-
tion by the Authority.
The Authority spent $2.3 million
to buy the Crestridge site. Annual
maintenance and upkeep costs anoth-
er $50,000. All told, mitigation activi-
ties associated with capital projects cost
the Authority more than $600,000 in
the past year.
While this is less than 1 percent of
our total capital spending for that time
period, it is a notable amount. But
environmental mitigation and moni-
toring programs allow the Authority to
plan and carry out important capital
projects with certainty while at the
same time protecting sensitive species
and habitats. Given these considera- I
tions, environmental activities are well
worth the price.
Maureen A. Stapleton
General Manager
-
- , r
WaterTalk 3
Budget gives Authority tools to maintain reliable water supply
Water Authority directors approved
a $323.2 million budget for fiscal 1997-
98 that will allow the Authority to con-
tinue providing a safe, reliable water
supply to the region and maintain the
same water rate it has had since July
1995.
The budget contains $70.8 million
for construction of pipelines and other
facilities that will expand and improve
the Authority’s regional water delivery
system, which supplies water to 2.6 mil-
lion San Diego County residents.
Also included are $1.5 million to
inspect, maintain and modify existing
Authority pipelines so they remain in
peak operating condition and $1.4 mil-
lion to encourage water conservation by
county residents at home and on the
job.
cents of every dollar
that it raises through
water sales on
improvements to its
regional waterdeliv-
ery system.
The capital bud-
get includes $41.7
million for the
Ranch0 Penasquitos
Pipeline, which will
extend 10 miles from
Elfin Forest to Mira
Mesa and link exist-
ing Authority
pipelines. The nine-
foot-diameter
1997-98 Water Authority budget
(in millions)
Capital Projects (22%)
$70.8
Ops. & Maint. (5
$17.6
Note: Total of
$323.2 million
also includes
$650,000 for equipment 1
replacement fund: Water Purchases (59%)
$190.7
agencies will add another $4 million of
funding for toilet programs.
“Our directors made sure the bud-
get was as efficient as possible,” says
Authority General Manager Maureen A.
Stapleton. ‘The allocated funds will
allow us to carry out our mission, which
is essential to San Diego County’s $67
billion annual economy, job base and
quality of life.”
Approximately 3 percent of the
budget goes toward labor and benefit
costs. Fiscal 1997-98 began July 1 and
runs through June 30,1998.
pipeline, which should be largely com-
pleted during fiscal 1997-98, will deliver
up to 400 million gallons of water per
day.
In addition, the new budget
includes $300,000 for programs that
encourage more efficient water use by
residents and industrial, commercial,
agricultural and public concerns.
The capital budget allocates anoth-
er $2.8 million to complete the G&inch
Valley Center Pipeline, which will carry
up to 40 million gallons per day on a 4
l/2-mile path between the Authority’s
first and second aqueducts.
The Authority will fund its fiscal
1997-98 budget primarily through the
sale of an estimated 492,000 acre-feet of
water.
In the area of water conservation, The Authority expects to draw $7.6
the Authority has allocated more than million from its rate stabilization fund,
$1.1 million for programs that foster established by Authority directors to
installation of ultra-low-flush toilets. offset revenue deficits and cushion the
effect of rate increases on local resi-
The Authority spends roughly 75
Funding from the Metropolitan Water
District and participating local water dents.
‘San Diego Water Savvy’
A panel of local experts on various aspects of the water industry
spoke in May before an audience of 175 at “San Diego Water
Savvy, ” a public forum sponsmed b IG’BS and several San Diego
County water agencies. The forum was held at the KPBS studio in
conjunction with the fourpart public television documentary
Cadillac Desert, which is based on Marc R&r&s book of the same
name about Western water history. KPBS reporter Scott Horsley mod-
erated the discussion, which gave the San Diego perspective on issues
raised in the documenta?. The panelists included representatives of
the Water Authority, the Metropolitan Water District of Southern
Cal+rnia, and the environmental, business and agricultural com-
munities, along with San Diego Union-Tribune reporter Steve
LaRue.
f -7 . I
4 WaterTalk
The increased local
resources will help the
Authority make the
county’s water supply
more reliable
local resources to play
larger role in county’s future
The Water Authority is planning
for a future in which the San Diego
region can count on local water
resources to provide up to one-quarter
of its total supply every year.
This projected future contrasts with
the present, when the amount of local
water available varies with the annual
rainfall totals. The amount has varied
dramatically since 1980, from a low of 5
percent of the total supply to a high of
30 percent.
Lakes have furnished most of the
region’s local water, with the rest com-
ing primarily from wells. Guided by its
Water Resources Plan, the Authority is
working with other water providers to
supplement these traditional local
sources with programs to recycle water
and further develop groundwater
basins.
Imported water - from the
Metropolitan Water District of
Southern California (MWD) and water
transfers -will continue to make up
the bulk of San Diego County’s total
supply. But local resources should con-
stitute between 20 and 28 percent of
the total regional supply by 2015 under
the Water Resources Plan (when con-
servation savings are included).
The increased local resources will
help the Authority make the county’s
water supply more reliable, according
to the Water Resources Plan. It also will
help the county to diversify its water
sources rather than rely heavily on one
supplier, MWD, as it has in the past.
Groundwater basins offer
expanding supply for region
Unlike some of its neighbors to the
north and east, San Diego County is
not blessed with bountiful groundwater
supplies. Agencies within the Water
Authority’s 1,400-square-mile service
area draw on wells for about 13,500
acre-feet of water annually. Private well-
owners use an amount of groundwater
that is significant but unquantified,
according to the Authority Water
Resources Plan.
However, the Authority projects
that with proper management, ground-
water basins in its service area could
yield between 30,000 and 45,000 acre-
feet per year by 2015.
More than a dozen groundwater
development and recovery programs
either are under consideration or are
being planned in the county. These
projects fall into one of three
categories:
Brackish groundwater recovery:
Brackish water typically found in basins
affected by irrigation runoff or seawa-
ter intrusion can be treated to drinking
water standards with desalination tech-
nology such as reverse osmosis.
Groundwater extraction and disinfec-
tion: These projects generally are locat-
ed in basins with higher quality water
that requires minimal treatment for use
as drinking water. Most such basins are
fully utilized, but several local agencies
have identified potential projects.
Groundwater recharge and recovey: In
this type of project, an agency increases
a basin’s yield by recharging it with
drinking water or recycled water.
The Authority supports cost-efft-
cient groundwater projects both techni-
cally and financially, as does the
Metropolitan Water District of
Southern California.
One acre-foot is approximately
326,000 gallons, which is enough
water to meet the annual household
needs of two average families.
WaterTalk 5
Programs allow water to be used more than once
Just as people recycle aluminum
cans, newsprint and plastic bottles,
they also have learned to reuse water
for a variety of safe, beneficial purpos-
es, says Ken Weinberg of the Water
Authority.
“Recycled water accounts for a
reclamation, highly trained personnel
treat and disinfect wastewater so it can
be used again for any purpose short of
Water recycling is especially
relatively small share of our total sup-
ply in San Diego County today,” said important in a place like
Weinberg, a water resources supervi-
sor. “But it will contribute more and
more water as projects now being
~~
San Riego where we import -. built or planned come on line.
‘Water recycling is especially most of our water’
important in a place like San Diego
County where we import most of our
water. We no longer can afford to get human consumption.
our water from hundreds of miles Local agencies from Fallbrook in
away, use it only once and let it go the north to Santee in the east to Otay
down the drain.” Mesa in the south use recycled water to
In water recycling, also known as fill lakes, ponds and fountains; irrigate
Conservation reduces local
need for additional imports
The Water Authority’s Water tial conservation practices, and educate
Resources Plan describes conservation people about why they should save
as “another type of local resource.” Bill water and how they may do so.
Jacoby, who supervises the Authority The best known facet of the pro
water conservation program, expands gram probably is the ultra-low-flush toi-
on this description: let rebate/voucher, which offers local
‘As we use our existing water residents up to $75 to purchase and
resources more efftciently, we reduce install a water-saving toilet.
our need for imported water,” Jacoby The Authority also devotes consid-
said. ‘This is particularly important in erable resources to several other con-
San Diego County, because every gal- servation-related efforts, including pro-
lon of water that we save with wise grams that helps local businesspeople
water use practices is one less gallon we save water.
need to import from some-
where else.”
Conservation practices
promoted by the Authority
and its member agencies save
more than 20,000 acre-feet of
water per year. The Water
Resources Plan projects that
amount will quadruple in 20
years.
Jacoby said the
Authority’s conservation pro-
gram aims to eliminate ineffi-
cient water use, develop infor-
mation on current and poten-
crops, parks, golf courses and freeway
medians; and control dust at construc-
tion sites. Recycled water also is used to
recharge - or refill - groundwater
basins and for certain industrial
processes.
The Authority’s Water Resources
Plan projects that 55,000 acre-feet of
water will be recycled by more than 25
projects in the county in 2015. In 1996,
17 facilities produced almost 10,000
acre-feet for reuse.
Many different public agencies
either operate recycling plants or are
planning to do so in the future. As the
regional water wholesaler, the
Authority offers technical support and
funding for cost-effective water recy-
cling - as it does for any such effort to
reduce the region’s dependence on
imported water.
Repurification
project advances
Some of the water recycled in 2015
may be used as drinking water. The city
of San Diego, with support from the
Authority, is studying a water repurifica-
tion project through which recycled
water would undergo further stringent
treatment so it is suitable for storage in a
drinking water reservoir.
The water first would undergo the
the highest level of recycling. Then San
Diego would use state-of-the-art technol-
ogy, including microfiltration and
reverse osmosis, to repurify it.
The repurified water would be
piped to a local reservoir, where it would
blend with imported and local supplies.
This blended water eventually would be
withdrawn from the reservoir and under-
go the usual drinking water filtration
and chlorination before delivery to San
Diego customers.
City of San Diego staff are conduct-
ing a detailed environmental review of
the project, which has conceptual
approval from the state Department of
Health Services. The draft environmen-
tal review documents should be available
for public review later this year.
/ci -5
6 WaterTalk ,’
in bringing water information to class-
rooms, says ACWA Vice President
Gene Harris.
The lab “is a great example of
~ innovation and long-term commitment
to water management,” Harris said.
“The Authority’s leadership furthers
the efforts of all water agencies pursu-
ing excellence in water resources man-
agement.”
The Mission Trails project, which
is part of the Authority’s Pipeline 4,
will carry up to 240 million gallons per
day on its 1.6mile route through
Mission Trails Regional Park and
improve water service to central, east-
ern and southern San Diego County.
The pipeline and flow regulatory
structure posed significant engineer-
ing, community relations, environmen-
tal and archaeological challenges, says
Michael Stift, assistant director of the
Authority Engineering Department.
New pipeline improves
water service. . .
ContinuedJS-om page 1
Economides said the Authority initi-
ated its CIP in 1989 to bring more water
into the county and convey it efficiently
and effectively to 23 member agencies,
which in turn deliver it to individual
homes and businesses. The capital pro-
gram also is designed to make the
regional pipeline system more flexible
operationally and to eliminate bottle-
necks that affect deliveries.
The $820 million CIP comprises 65
projects, including massive pipeline
constructionjobs and work to modify
and upgrade existing facilities to ensure
they remain in peak operating condi-
tion.
Four of the construction projects
combine to form the new Pipeline 4.
Heading south from the northernmost
Projects honored . . .
Continued Jbm page 1
The joint project demonstrates the
important role water agencies may play
point, the projects are:
n The Scripps Ranch Pipeline,
which begins at Miramar Hill and
extends 8 l/2 miles through Naval Air
Station Miramar and Scripps Ranch to
Tierrasanta.
‘Completion of the
Pipeline 4 project marks a -
major milestone in the
Authority‘s CIP
n The Mission Trails Pipeline,
which connects to the end of the
Scripps Ranch Pipeline and runs 1.6
miles through Mission Trails Regional
Park. The Authority built an l&million
gallon flow regulatory structure, made
of reinforced concrete and buried
underground in the park, to control
water pressure and facilitate water deliv-
eries.
n The La Mesa/Lemon Grove
Pipeline, which stretches 12 miles from
the Mission Trails Pipeline into a tunnel
under Cowles Mountain and through
La Mesa, Lemon Grove and Spring
Valley to a point near Sweetwater
Reservoir.
n The Lower Otay Pipeline, which
picks up where the La Mesa/Lemon
Grove Pipeline leaves off and continues
eight miles to end at Lower Otay
Reservoir.
The Authority began building the
four projects in 1991 and completed
work last year. The pipe, made of weld-
ed steel, varies in diameter between 72
and 108 inches. Pipeline 4’s daily deliv-
ery capacity ranges from 265 million
gallons in the north to 130 million gal-
lons in the south.
The Authority had to
build the project in steep
terrain and through hard
rock in Mission Trails
Regional Park, Stift said.
At the same time, he
said, the Authority success-
fully dealt with such chal-
lenges as addressing safety
concerns along the project
access route, which was
adjacent to several schools,
and scheduling construc-
tion to avoid the breeding season of
environmentally sensitive birds.
The Authority also tunneled under
the San Diego River to avoid affecting
the remains of the historic Mission
Flume and habitat for the endangered
least Bell’s vireo.
The North County Distribution
Pipeline presented a similarly challeng-
ing situation, Stift said. The project is
designed to receive water from two
sources. Moreover, the Authority had
to construct a tunnel for the project
that required blasting through hard
San Diego County schoolchildren enjoy the com-
puterized workstations in the award-winning
Splash science mobile lab.
rock under three of its existing
pipelines.
The North County Distribution
Pipeline extends 3.8 miles between the
city of Oceanside’s Weese Filtration
Plant to a flow control facility north of
Vista. The pipeline will deliver up to
107 million gallons of water per day to
the cities of Vista, San Marcos and
Oceanside and the community of
Rainbow.
WaterTalk 7
News briefs
Fallbrook district
notes 75th birthday
The Fallbrook Public Utility District
reached its 7’5th birthday on June 5. The
district was incorporated in 1922 to serve
water from local wells to a service area of
500 acres. As the district grew in the
1930s it developed additional supplies
from the San Luis Rey and Santa
Margarita rivers.
The district became a charter mem-
ber of the Water Authority in 1944 and
received its first delivery of imported
Colorado River water four years later.
Today, the district provides import-
ed water and wastewater service to
27,000 residents living on 28,000 acres in
Fallbrook. Almost half of the water is
used by agriculture. The district also pro-
duces about 1 l/2 million gallons of
recycled water daily that is used to irri-
gate nurseries, farms, playing fields and
landscaped freeway medians.
The County Board of Supervisors
declared June 5 Fallbrook Public Utility
District Day in the county.
Poway prepares for
reclaimed water deliveries
Poway soon will realize a long-time
goal by receiving and distributing
reclaimed water for use in the city.
The city of Poway is in the process of
making several structural modifications,
including conversion of a 2 milliongal-
Ion steel-tank reservoir from potable to
reclaimed water use. The city also will
modify a pump station so it can handle
both reclaimed and potable water and
construct a new potable water reservoir
that is made of prestressed concrete and
holds 1 l/2 million gallons.
The upcoming arrival of reclaimed
water from the city of San Diego’s new
North City Reclamation Plant will culmi-
nate planning that began more than a
decade ago. Working with Boyle
Engineering, Poway planned and
installed a pipeline system that will deliv-
er reclaimed water to industrial and
commercial users in the South Poway
Business Park.
Reclaimed water is used for purpos-
es other than human consumption,
including landscape irrigation and sever-
al industrial processes. Poway is develop-
ing a user-friendly guide that will help
current and potential reclaimed water
users understand regulatory
requirements, obtain required approvals
and distribute reclaimed water.
Oceanside expands
desalting facility
The city of Oceanside is using desali-
nation technology to turn brackish
groundwater from the Mission Basin
Aquifer in the San Luis Rey Valley into
drinking water. The city’s Mission Basin
Desalting Facility produces 2.3 million
gallons of drinking water 7 er day. Construction of the p ant was com-
pleted three years ago. The city expects
to begin expanding it by mid-1998.
When the expansion is complete, the
plant will have a 6.3million-gallon capac-
ity and meet almost onequarter of the
city’s projected average water demand
for 1999. The rest of Oceanside’s water is
imported through the Water Authority.
Water for the facility is drawn from
the aquifer by two wells. Three more
wells are being fitted with pumps and
motors, and an additional three wells will
be included in the expansion project.
Sweetwater plans for
citizen involvement
Sweetwater Authority received
an $85,000 state grant for its program to
involve local people in planning for the
future of the Sweetwater River watershed. Sweetwater will ask government
agencies, residents, landowners, commu-
nity groups and business organizations to
identify their needs related to water and
water quality issues in the Sweetwater
River watershed. They also will be asked
to assist Sweetwater in developing a plan
that meets community needs as well as
those of the agency’s customers.
The watershed provides water to the
Sweetwater Reservoir in Spring Valley
and Loveland Reservoir near Alpine.
The Sweetwater Authority’s 165,000 cus-
tomers in Chula Vista, National City and
Bonita get a portion of their drinking
water from the reservoir. The rest of
their water is imported through the
County Water Authority.
The goal of the public involvement
program is to discern the common inter-
ests of those who live in the watershed
and those who get water from the reser-
voirs, says Sweetwater General Manager
Richard Reynolds.
Visually impaired fishing
program reaches milestone
Visually impaired anglers between
the ages of 6 and 90-plus have been
catching fish for 10 years at Lake
Jennings thanks to a free cooperative
program of the Helix Water District and
San Diego Gas & Electric. The program
celebrated its 10th birthday June 12.
Helix opens Lake Jennings on the
second Thursday of every month from
November to July for the Blind Fishing
Program. Volunteers organized by Larry
Hall of SDG&E assist the anglers, who
fish either from shore or the public fish-
ing access float. SDG&E also underwrites
the fishing fees.
“It’s hard to tell who has more fun,”
says Hall, “the visually impaired partici-
pants or the volunteers.” Those interest-
ed in fishing or helping may call Hall at
462-2019.
Olivenhain opens
World Wide Web site
The Olivenhain Municipal Water
District has become the latest local water
provider to use cyberspace as a way to
increase communication with the public.
The Olivenhain home page is at
http://www.csusm.edu/public/guests/
omwd. It contains information on many
topics, including the district’s history,
finances, water storage project and treat-
ment plant, and publications.
Other San Diego County water
providers with web sites include Helix
Water District, Otay Water District, the
city of Poway and Vista Irrigation District.
The Water Authority’s home page,
which has links to water-related web sites
in the county and elsewhere, is at
http://www.csusm.edu/community/
sdcwa/sdcwa.htm.
8 WaterTalk
MEMBER AGENCIES
Cities
Del Mar
Escondido
National City
Oceanside
Poway
San Diego
Water Districts
Helix
Otay
San Dieguito
County Water District
Vallecitos
irrigation Districts
Santa Fe
South Bay
Vista
Public Utility District
Failbrook
Federal Agency
Pendleton Military
Reservation
Municipal Water
Districts
Carlsbad
Olivenhain
Padre Dam
Rainbow
Ramona
Rincon del Diablo
Valley Center
Yuima
County
San Diego (ex officio)
New director from Ramona joins board
Connie Bull of Ramona has joined the
Water Authority board of directors, repre-
senting the Ramona Municipal Water
District.
Bull replaced Thomas Brammell as
Ramona’s representative; Brammell
remains the Ramona district’s general
manager. Bull’s board term extends to
September 2000.
She also is a director of the Ramona
district, having been elected to a four-year
year term last year. In addition, she has
been an elected director of the San Diego
The San Diego County Water Authority
works through its 24 member agencies to
supply water to more than 2.6 million San
Diego County residents. The Authority was
established as a public agency in 1944 to
import water for wholesaling to its member
agencies. Since it began delivering water in
1947, the Authority has consistently ensured
that county residents have a safe and reli-
able wafer supply.
The Authority, which encompasses
907,006 acres, is governed by a 34-member
board of directors representing the member
agencies.
The Authority is a member of the
Metropolitan Water District of Southern
California, which supplies water from the
Colorado River and the State Water Project
Country Estates homeowners association
board for four years.
She has worked in the real estate and
education fields. Until 1993, she worked in
several capacities in real estate. Before
that, she held staff positions at Escondido
High School and Palomar College.
Her volunteer service includes the
American Heart Association and ad-hoc
committees for the city of San Diego and
San Marcos school board.
An Illinois native, she has lives in
Southern California since 1970.
to 27 member agencies.
More information is available about the
Authority on its home page, which may be
found on the World Wide Web at http://www.
csusm.edu/community/sdcwa/
sdcwa.htm.
After reading WaterTalk, please pass it
to someone else. If you would like to be on
the WaterTalk mailing list or want more infor-
mation about the Water Authority, call the
Public Affairs Department at (619)
682-4100.
WaterTak Copyright @ 1997
San Diego County Water Authority
Ail rights reserved
Editor: Mark Stadler
Design: Sue King
Bulk Rate
U.S. Postage
PAID
Permit No. 2686
San Diego, CA
3211 Fifth Avenue
San Diego, CA 92103
@
PRINTED ON RECYCLED PAPER
San Diego County W&r Authority
VOLUME 10 NUMBER 2 SPRING 1997
Inside this issue:
2 Education program
benefits schools
3 Critical issues in
transfer program
7 County celebrates
water awareness
~ Plan will guide water development in county I
~
The Water Authority board of directors has water imported through the Metropolitan
approved a plan that will guide development of Water District of Southern California (MWD),
the regional water supply says Authority General Manager
through 2015. Maureen A. Stapleton.
The Water Resources “The Water Resources Plan is
Plan calls for the Authority to our blueprint as we continue to
act with its member agencies
to develop a water supply sig-
nificantly different than that
which the region has today.
This new water supply will feature the
acquisition of new supplies through water
transfers and increased development of local
resources, along with a lessened reliance on
provide the safe, reliable water
supply that is so vital to the
region’s $67 billion economy,
job base and quality of life,” Stapleton said.
The plan makes a reasonable estimate of
the region’s future water needs, evaluates exist-
ing and potential water supplies, and
Continued on page 6
r 1 .
2 WaterTalk i .
From the General Manager
Education program
carries important
message to schools
The Water Authority is involved in
many pressing issues that are crucial to
San Diego County’s future. Our econo-
my, job base, environment and quality
of life depend on work by the Authority
and its member agencies to maintain a
reliable, adequate regional water supply.
As such, we are acting to secure new
water supplies that will supplement
those already in place. We
For many years, the Authority’s pri-
mary vehicle for school instruction was
the classroom visit. A trained specialist
comes to the classroom - usually
fourth grade - and presents informa-
tion about California’s water history and
San Diego County’s water resources.
We still do classroom visits, but we
have expanded the program in recent
years so we can reach many more stu-
dents in different
ways.
For example,
the Authority’s
school theater
program uses
drama, humor
and music to
also are building new
pipelines and maintaining
existing facilities so we can
We believe that
deliver-this water when and
where it is needed in suffi- today’s student will
cient quantities.
In taking these actions, carry these good habits
the Authority is looking to
San Diego County’s future.
We also look to the future
in other ways, most notably
with our school education
with them for the rest
of their lives. program.
This free program, a
branch of our Public Affairs
Department, reaches more than
100,000 local students every year. This
extensive effort uses a wide variety of
methods to educate youngsters about
the region’s water resources and issues,
especially the need to always use water
wisely.
The idea is simple: Reach people
when they are young and teach them
good habits concerning water. And it
works. Those of us at the Authority
often hear good-natured complaints
from parents whose children admonish
them for letting the water run or not
fixing the leaky toilet.
We believe that today’s students,
who have grown up hearing about water
from the Authority and their teachers,
will carry these good habits with them
for the rest of their lives.
teach 75,000 stu-
dents annually
about the
region’s water.
The Splash! Mobile Science Lab is
a “field trip” that comes to area elemen-
tary schools. This joint project with the
County Offtce of Education provides
work stations complete with computers
and microscopes that enable students
to learn about area watersheds.
The Authority also supplies plenty
of information to elementary schools
through the traveling library program,
which brings books about water to the
school along with a kiosk that features
three informative interactive panels.
The Authority supports teachers in
many other ways as well. Education staff
train teachers to use curricula in six
areas, each appropriate for a different
grade level. Teachers may learn about
low-water-use gardening at a teaching
garden in De1 Mar. They are eligible for
a $250 minigrant to assist with the
development of water-related educa-
tional units.
In addition, more than 300 teach-
ers have used Authority water quality
testing kits to instruct their students in
“hands on” science projects at local
rivers and streams.
The Authority also is a major spon-
sor of the Greater San Diego Science
and Engineering Fair.
Our school education activities
have not gone unnoticed. Our staff is
frequently asked to serve on education
advisory committees, most recently one
to establish a bina-
tional water moni-
toring program
along the Mexican
border and anoth-
er to set up a
regional environ-
mental education
center at the San
Diego Natural
History Museum.
We also actively
participate in sev-
eral statewide edu-
cational commit-
tees.
The presenta-
tions, programs
and lesson plans
provided by the Authority help local
schools to supplement their offerings,
especially in the area of science educa-
tion. Moreover, the scope and diversity
of our education program have estab
lished the agency as a water industry
leader in this area.
Just as importantly, the program
helps the Authority to carry out our
mission, today and most certainly in the
future.
Maureen A. Stapleton
General Manager
WaterTalk 3
Cost and capacity critical issues in water transfer program
The Water Authority and the
Imperial Irrigation District (IID) have
negotiated draft terms for a program
through which the Authority will pur-
chase water that has been conserved in
the Imperial Valley.
While this is occurring, MWD is imple-
menting a $4 billion capital program
that was planned for a time of much
greater water demand than now antici-
pated.
Q. Will a water transfer between the
Authority and IID help MWD to save
money ?
The Authority now is negotiating
with the Metropolitan Water District of
Southern California (MWD) to gain
capacity in the Colorado River
Aqueduct to convey the transfer water
to San Diego County.
Such actions shift MWD’s existing
and future cost burden to a handful of
agencies such as the Authority that
depend on M3VD for most of their
water.
A. Transfer water obtained by the
Authority will provide coastal Southern
California with a new, reliable water
supply, saving MWD more than $1 bil-
lion it would otherwise spend over the
next quartet-century to develop new
supplies of its own.
Of the many important issues sur-
rounding the Authority-MWD talks,
two have emerged as the most signifi-
cant:
The water transfer also will help
California to live within its apportion-
ment of Colorado River water, which
should enable MWD to continue
receiving surplus water valued at $75
million per year from the river.
n Cost-shifting. Many of the
Authority’s fellow agencies in
MWD are concerned their costs
will increase if the Authority uses
MWD facilities to convey transfer \
Surplus?
Capacity
/
Q. What is MWD 5 annual use of
Colorado River water, as compared to its
water to San Diego County. bI a!EGZ!?Z~uallv uses at least 1.2 n Capacity. The Authority and
MWD disagree about when capacity
will be available in MWD’s Colorado
River Aqueduct to transport up to
200,000 acre-feet of transfer water per
year.
Following are some typical ques-
tions about these two issues, along with
the Authority’s answers.
cost-shifting
Q. Will use of the Colorado River
Aqueduct to convey waterporn a San
DiegoImperial Valley water transfe shift
costs to other MWD member agencies, caus-
ing water rates to increase?
A. No.The Authority will pay the
full cost of operation, maintenance,
power and replacements directly relat-
ed to conveyance of the transferred
water in accordance with state law.
Cost-shifting occurs when agencies
reduce their existing water purchases
from MWD or switch to alternate water
sources instead of buying from MWD.
MWD water sales have declined by
more than one-third in the last six
years as many of its member agencies
have shifted to other water resources.
Projected future annual availability of
Colorado River Aqueduct capacity
Q. Does the Authority plan to reduce its
use of waterfrom MWD?
A. The Authority is vitally interest-
ed in MWD and plans to remain a
member agency. The Authority is the
only member agency that has offered
to make a fixed financial commitment,
which will provide MWD with stable
revenue to meet its financial obliga-
tions.
Transfer water will not replace
water that San Diego County currently
purchases from MWD; rather, it will
help the Authority to meet projected
future demand.
million acre-feet of water from the
river. It is legally entitled to 550,000
acre-feet. The rest of the water is
surplus, except for 106,000 acre-feet
that results from a transfer program
with IID. The federal Interior
Department, which administers the
river, has declared surplus conditions
twice, in 1996 and 1997.
Q. What hap@ns ifa sur@.s is not
declared ?
A. Without a surplus declaration,
MWD will lose almost half of the water
it counts on from the Colorado River
Aqueduct. This would have a serious
impact on the availability and cost of
water for the region.
Q. How soon might capacity become
available in the Colorado River Aqueduct?
A. The Authority believes that
capacity could become available as
early as next year. Unless California
begins water transfers and other pro-
grams to reduce its use of Colorado
River water, it may not gain access to
surplus water in 1998 and the Colorado
River Aqueduct will have idle capacity.
r
4 WaterTalk
Planned maintenance
activities ensure that the
Authority updates and improves
its facilities to avoid potential
problems before they develop
into emergencies.
Peak condition.. .
Continuedfiom page I
residents,” says Ed Stewart, a principal civil
engineer who oversees the Authority’s
System Modifications Program.
Planned maintenance activities
ensure that the Authority updates and
improves its facilities to avoid potential
problems before they develop into
emergencies that waste water and
inconvenience customers.
Authority directors have budgeted
$1.8 million for its system
modifications and aqueduct protection
programs in fiscal 1996-97. This effort
augments daily maintenance work.
Jim Wilkinson, an operations and
maintenance manager at the
Authority, likens the agency’s pipeline
system to the family car when it comes
to different types of maintenance.
“We do regular preventive mainte-
nance, which is like changing the oil in
your car,” Wilkinson said. “When nec-
essary, we do corrective maintenance,
which is like replacing a part in your
engine when it wears out. We do these
things to avoid emergencies, which is
like having your car break down.”
Eight Authority employees work
full-time performing preventive main-
tenance on more than 6,000 valves,
gears, structures and facilities that con-
trol flow in 277 miles of large-diameter
pipelines and allow access to the system
for repair work.
In addition, the Authority each
winter conducts planned lo-day shut-
downs of portions of its system as part
of the Aqueduct Protection Program.
During these shutdowns, which occur
when water demand is lowest, employ-
ees inspect pipeline interiors foot by
foot to detect corrosion.
Last winter, Authority inspected
more than 22 miles of pipeline. They
found two corrosion problems severe
enough to require immediate repairs
and replaced 95 valves.
Authority operations and mainte-
nance employees join with their coun-
terparts from the engineering and
right of-way departments for the
System Modifications Program.
These employees evaluate the
Authority’s system to determine when
modifications are necessary to
improve operations, rectify situations
that cause equipment to wear out pre-
maturely and enhance facilities.
“We have to figure out how to
make these modifications in a way
that solves problems with individual
facilities without disrupting overall
water flow in the pipelines or disturb
ing service to our member agencies,”
says Mel Spell, an operations and
maintenance manager.
“It’s tricky work, but we have to
do it because a single faulty valve or
corrosion in a structure could cause a
problem that forces us to shut down
the entire system while we fix it.”
Capital program assures reliabte water deliveries for region
Work to inspect, maintain and
improve Water Authority facilities
makes up a significant part of the
agency’s overall Capital Improvement
Program (CIP) .
In total, the CIP comprises 52 pro-
jects that will help the Authority to
ensure reliable water deliveries today
and well into the next century.
When the CIP is complete, the
Authority will be able to import more
water into the county andcon tinue
efficient water deliveries to local resi-
dents.
The program also aims to make
the Authority’s regional aqueducts
more operationally flexible, eliminate
bottlenecks in the system and provide
adequate storage capacity to meet
needs during an emergency.
Many of the major pipeline pro-
jects in the CIP will combine to form
an additional regional pipeline that
will extend through the county and
end at Lower Otay Reservoir.
This pipeline will provide addi-
tional capacity to meet projected
future demands and relieve limits
within portions of the system.
The CIP has a budget of $782 mil-
lion, which includes projects already
completed and several still in the
works. Some $68 million is allocated
for capital projects in the current fls-
cal year.
The funds for fiscal 1996-97
enable the Authority to bring several
new pipelines on line, continue work
on two pipeline projects, improve and
maintain the regional system, and take
further steps toward developing an
emergency storage system.
WaterTalk 5
Work continues on solution to problems facing Bay-Delta
Momentum is building toward a
solution that will restore the
Sacrament&an Joaquin River Delta
and San Francisco Bay, a region that is
both a valuable estuary and a source of
water to twothirds of California
residents, including those in San Diego
County.
Gov. Wilson has set aside $177 mil-
lion for Delta-related projects in his pro-
posed fiscal 1997-98 state budget.
President Clinton’s fiscal 1997-98
budget proposal for the federal govem-
ment includes a request for $143 million
for ecosystem restoration in the Bay-
Delta.
Water industry officials and environ-
mentalists are working to ensure that
the funds allocated by Wilson and
Clinton remain in the state and federal
budgets once legislative review and
approval processes conclude later this
year, says Gordon Hess, director of the
Water Authority’s imported water
department
The actions by Clinton and Wilson
follow Californians’ approval last
November of Proposition 204, the Safe,
Clean, Reliable Water Supply Act. Some
63 percent of voters voted for the $995
water bond measure, which includes
roughly $600 million for Bay-Delta
ecosystem improvements.
All of these activities build on the
work of CALFED, a joint state-federal
program established in December 1994
to solve problems affecting the Bay-
Delta.
CALFED is conducting a detailed
review of three potential long-term solu-
tions. Each of the alternatives is
designed as a comprehensive, long-term
plan to provide a reliable water supply
for cities and
farms and a
healthy, self&s-
taining ecosys-
tem for fish and
wildlife, Hess
said.
CALFED
expects to
release a draft
environmental
study of the
three altema-
tives later this
year.
The three
solutions on
CALFED’s short
list share certain
elements, including an ecosystem
restoration program that would com-
prise measures to restore natural habi-
tats, screen more water diversions from
fish, control introduced species and
develop ideal water flow patterns.
Since ecosystem restoration is a
common element of all three alterna-
tives, CALFED is developing an exten-
sive list of environmental projects that
may be implemented beginning this
year.
~ Directors from South Bay, San Diego join Authority board
Bud Pocklington of Chula Vista and
Mike Madigan and John Fowler, both of
San Diego, have joined the Water
Authority board of directors.
Pocklington was sworn in as the
South Bay Irrigation District’s represen-
tative to the 34member Authority
board in February. He replaced Car-y
Wright, a director for more than eight
years.
Fowler and Madigan took their
places as city of San Diego directors on
the board in March. Fowler replaced
Harold Throckmorton and Mad&-an
replaced Marilynn Hardebeck. Both
Throckmorton and Hardebeck were
directors since 1991.
Each of the Authority’s member
agencies has least one director on the
board. The directors, who are business
and civic leaders in their communities,
set policy for the Authority.
Madigan is in his second term as an
Authority director. During his previous
term, from 1979 to 1993, he served two-
year stints as board chair, vicechair and
secretary. He also represented the
Authority on the Metropolitan Water
District board of directors for more
than 10 years.
He is chair of the Bay-Delta
Advisory Council, a citizen committee
advising the joint state-federal program
charged with developing a long-term
solution to problems plaguing the
Sacrament&an Joaquin River Delta
and San Francisco Bay.
Fowler is vice-president of Rick
Engineering, where he has worked for
nine years. Prior to that, he worked for
28 years at the city of San Diego, and
retired as assistant city manager in 1988.
Pocklington also is a South Bay
Irrigation District director, a post to
which he was first elected in 1986. He
has been president of the South Bay
board and chair of the Sweetwater
Authority, a special district formed
under a joint powers agreement
between National City and the South
Bay Irrigation District.
He served in the United States Navy
for 36 years, retiring as a captain in
1987.
.P. ?
6 WaterTalk t ,
San Diego County celebrates Water Awareness Month
Local water agencies have several
events planned in May to celebrate the
10th annual California Water .
Awareness Month.
The Water Authority and
several other agencies have
joined with KPBS, San
Diego County’s public 4
broadcasting station, to
hold a free informational .
forum May 28 from 6 to 7:30
p.m. in connection with the !
upcoming broadcast of a doc-
umentary adapting the book
Cadillac Desert.
In addition, 11 Authority
member agencies known collectively as
the North County Water Agencies will
hold their sixth annual water awareness
event May 10 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at
Plaza Camino Real mall in Carlsbad.
The Authority also is hosting a
booth featuring water awareness infor-
mation at the Cinco de Mayo celebra-
tion May 3-4 in Old Town.
The Cadillac Desert forum, titled
“San Diego Water Savvy,” will be held at
~ Plan will guide
water development.. .
Cmtinuedfi-mn page 1
determines the best mix of resources
for meeting those needs.
San Diego County presently
imports between 70 and 95 percent of
its water supply through MWD. The rest
of the region’s water comes from local
resources, predominately rainfall.
Under the Water Resources Plan,
the Authority will work to reduce the
region’s dependence on water import-
ed through MWD. The Authority pro-
jects that such water will make up
between 54 and 60 percent of the
regional supply in 2015.
At the same time, the region will
get 15 to 21 percent of its water from
local lakes and wells, as well as from
expanded programs to recycle water
and develop additional groundwater.
the KPBS studio on the San
Diego State University cam-
+ pus.
P The forum will feature
a panel of
‘s, knowledgeable
2 speakers who
) will discuss dif-
ferent aspects of
San Diego County’s
water situation.
including supply, sources, uses and envi-
ronmental concerns. KPBS radio
reporter Scott Horsley will moderate the
discussion.
KPBS will screen an eight-minute
preview of the documentary. Free
munchies will be provided and prizes
will be awarded.
The four-part adaptation of Cadillac
Desert, Marc Reisner’s book about west-
em water is scheduled to air on Tuesday
The rest of the water, about one-
quarter of the supply, will result from
water transfers - the purchase of water
from other areas, primarily agricultural
regions.
The revised plan features
greater diversity in imported
water sources and a stronger
emphasis on water transfers.
The Authority is negotiating to buy
conserved water on a long-term basis
from the Imperial Irrigation District,
but the Water Resources Plan evaluates
transfers in a generic sense.
The plan approved by Authority
directors is an updated version of a
evenings from June 24 through July 15
on KPBS Television.
The North County Water Agencies
event will feature information about
conservation, a watershed model,
exhibits, posters, games, face-painting
and an appearance by Water Wabbit.
The agencies will present prizes to
the top seven entries in their annual
Water Awareness Month poster contest
for local students. Winning posters from
each agency’s service area will be on dis-
play. Information displays will cover sever-
al topics, including the history of water
supply and use in North County, low-
water-use plants, pollution of local water-
sheds, and composting and mulching.
Water Awareness Month takes place
every May in California. The theme this
year is “Use Water Wisely - It’s a Way of
Life.”
The campaign, which is supported
by water agencies and other organiza-
tions throughout the state, seeks to edu-
cate Californians about the importance
of water in all facets of their lives.
strategy adopted three years ago. The
revised plan features greater diversity in
imported water sources and a stronger
emphasis on water transfers, says
Stapleton.
Under the 1993 plan, the region
was to import about 85 percent of its
water through MWD, with the rest
resulting from local sources. The new
plan reduces San Diego County’s
dependence on MWD, using
transferred water to replace some sup
plies that otherwise would be purchased
from MWD in the future.
‘We expect water transfers to be
part of our supply every year,” Stapleton
said. “In the past, we considered water
transfers only in dry years, to make up
the difference when imported water
from MWD ran short.”
The plan estimates that the region
will use 787,000 acre-feet of water in
2015, a 30 percent increase over total
water use today.
. WaterTalk 7
News briefs
Authority partnership
programs honored
The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation has
recognized two water conservation pro-
grams actively supported by the Water
Authority. The programs are:
n The Protector de1 Agua, a part-
nership arrangement among several
public agencies that provides free land-
scape and agricultural irrigation train-
ing in Spanish and English to field-level
irrigation workers. This program was
chosen from among 47 entries in the
Innovative Partnership Category.
The idea behind this education pro-
gram is that such workers usually are the
first to see, report and correct irrigation
system problems that waste water.
Other agencies besides the
Authority involved with the program
are Mission Resource Conservation
District, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, UC
Cooperative Extension, the
Metropolitan Water District of
Southern California and several
Authority member agencies.
n The Ellen Browning Scripps
Water-Wise Garden, located at the San
Diego Wild Animal Park. The Bureau
recognized the Park and the San Diego
County Xeriscape Council for the pro-
gram in the Small Demonstration
Project category.
Council volunteers, working with
support from the Park, the Ellen
Browning Scripps Foundation and the
city of San Diego, constructed the
threequarter-acre garden as a site peo-
ple may visit to learn about low-water-
use plants and landscape techniques.
The Authority provides informa-
tional brochures and staff support for
the garden.
Olivenhain receives
“Golden Watchdog” award
The San Diego County Taxpayers
Association honored the Olivenhain
Municipal Water District for the
agency’s efficient use of tax dollars.
Olivenhain received the Golden
Watchdog award for its recent reorga-
nization, which reduced the agency’s
spending by $380,000 per year, includ-
ing a 10 percent cut in personnel costs.
The agency is proud that it was rec-
ognized for using tax dollars as
efficiently as possible. “We didn’t get
awarded for laying people off,” says
Olivenhain General Manager David
McCollom. “We were awarded for
reducing costs and improving opera-
tions.”
Olivenhain is a Water Authority
member agency.
Rainbow project
protects wetlands
The Rainbow Municipal Water
District used an innovative technology
to replace pipe in an environmentally
sensitive wetland area.
The 24inchdiameter pipeline,
which crosses under the San Luis Rey
River, was damaged during heavy flood-
The Bureau
of Reclamation
has honored
the Protector
del Agua class-
es, which pro-
videfiee bilin-
gual training
to field-level
irrigation
workers.
ing. Rainbow, a Water Authority mem-
ber agency, needed to replace 2,200 feet
of the pipeline, which is the only con-
nection between two water systems on
different sides of the river.
But Rainbow wanted to accomplish
this task with a minimum of
environmental disruption. So the
agency chose to install the new pipe
with “trenchless” technology rather than
conventional open-trench installation.
This technique, known as direction-
al drilling, allowed Rainbow to installed
steel pipe deep below the river and the
wetland habitat without the need to
dredge, divert or dewater the river.
Padre Dam entry wins
special district scholarship
An entry representing the Padre
Dam Municipal Water District has won
a special district scholarship for the
fourth consecutive year.
Brianna A. Van Ness of Santee’s
West Hills High School was awarded
one of six $1,000 scholarships by the
California Special District Association’s
San Diego chapter. The Water
Agencies Association of San Diego
County co-funds the scholarship pro-
gram.
Van Ness has earned numerous
academic honors and awards and has
an extensive record of community ser-
vice. She plans to attend a California
university and continue on to pharma-
cy school. I
8 WaterTalk
MEMBER AGENCIES
Cities
Del Mar
Esco~dido
Natioflal City
Oceanside
Poway
San Oiego
Water Districts
Helix
Otay
San Dieguito
County Water District
Vallecitos
Irrigation Districts
Santa Fe
South Bay
Vista
Public Utility District
Fallbrook
Federal Agency
Pendleton Military
Reservation
Municipal Water
Districts
Carlsbad
glivenhain
Rainbow
Ramona
Rincon del Diablo
Valley Center
Yuima
County
San Diego (ex officio)
New pipeline to serve North County residents
The Water Authority recently dedicated
a new pipeline that will serve water to people
in Bonsall, Fallbrook, San Marcos, Vista and
Oceanside.
The steel pipeline, measuring 72 inches
in diameter, begins at the Authority’s Second
Aqueduct near the Weese Water Filtration
Plant in Oceanside and extends 3.4 miles
west to the intersection of East Vista Way and
Osborne Street in Vista.
It has the capacity to carry 105 million
gallons - or more than 320 acre-feet - of
treated water per day.
The Authority constructed the North
County Distribution Pipeline at the request
of several North County member agencies
for a regional treated water pipeline.
The construction project, which cost
approximately $30 million, includes three
flow control and metering buildings, a 1 mil-
lion-gallon regulating structure, a 700,00@
gallon chlorine contact tank and a 70@foot
hard-rock tunnel, as well as the pipeline
itself.
The project is part of the Authority’s
Capital Improvement Program, which was
initiated in 1989 to ensure the region has
reliable water delivery facilities.
‘L
The San Diego County Water Authorii
works through its 24 member agencies to
supply water to more than 2.6 million San
Diego County residents. The Authority was
established as a public agency in i 944 to
import water for wholesaling to its member
agencies. Since it began delivering water in
1947, fhe Authority has consistently ensured
that county residents have a safe and reli-
able water supply.
The Authority, which encompasses
907,006 acres, is governed by a 34-member
board of directors representing the member
agencies.
The Authority is a member of the
Metropolitan Water District of Southern
California, which supplies water from the
Colorado River and the State Water Project
to 27 member agencies.
More information is available about the
Authority on its home page, which may be
found on the World Wide Web at
~:/~.~usm.~~~mmuni~/
sdcwa/sdcwa.htm.
After reading WaterTalk, please pass it
to someone else. If you wouid like to be on
the WaterTa/k mailing list or want more infor-
mation about the Water Authority, call the
Public Affairs Department at (019)
682-4100.
Waisxlhlk Copyright @ 1997
San Diego County Water Authority
All rights reserved
Editor: Mark Stadler
Design: Sue King
San Diego County Water Authority
3211 Fifth Avenue
San Diego, CA 92103
Bulk Rate
U.S. Postage
PAID
Permit No. 2686
San Diego, CA
@
PRINTED ON RECYCLED PAPER
VOLUME 10 NUMBER 1 WINTER 1997
Assembling San Diego County’s water supply
San Diego County’s water resources to supplement those
supply has had relatively few already in place.
components over the years. The Authority’s Water
Until the mid-1940s the region Resources Plan examines new
relied entirely on rivers, lakes resources, ranging from those
and wells to meet its needs. already in place, such as import-
When the local supply ed supplies and water reclama-
began to run short during tion, to those under study,
World War II, county residents including seawater desalination
formed the Water Authority to and building a pipeline to the
bring in a new source - imported water. Colorado River.
For the past half-century, imported water, These are the pieces the Authority will
rainfall and snowmelt have adequately sup- assemble into a completed puzzle that main-
ported the regional economy and quality of tains a safe, reliable water supply for San
life. Diego County.
As the 21st century approaches, however, _ Following on this page and pages 45 are
Authority directors and other community several articles that outline how the Authority
leaders realized the county needs new water has put its Water Resources Plan together.
Plan represents roadmap
for developing resources
The Water Resources Plan is the Water
Authority’s roadmap for meeting the San
Diego region’s water needs over the next two
decades.
As adopted by the Authority board of direc-
7
tors in 1993, the plan outlined how the
Authority might develop water
resources in a manner that diversified
the region’s supply, increased the
amount of local water being used and
reduced reliance on imported water.
When Authority directors approved
the plan, they asked their staff to regu-
larly revise and update it to reflect
changing conditions and new opportu-
nities that may arise.
A draft of the first such update was
released for public review and comment in
Continued on page 5
f4 Ai I
2 WaterTalk .
From the General Manager
Water Authority continues to meet its mission in ’90s
As we review 1996 and contemplate
the new year, the Water Authority’s
directors and staff can note with pride
that we continue to provide San Diego
County with a safe, reliable water sup-
ply that supports the regional econo-
my, job base and quality of life.
Now we enter 1997, a
resume negotiations with IID in 1997.
At the same time, the Authority
worked to arrange delivery of transfer
water from the Colorado River to San
Diego County. We are negotiating with
MWD for use of the Colorado River
Aqueduct, the only conveyance facility
year that marks the 50th
anniversary of imported water The water sources may
use in the San Diego region.
The county’s first Colorado change, as may the
River water delivery flowed
into San Vicente Reservoir on
Nov. 24, 1947. strategies to obtain
Today, water imported
from the Colorado River and new supplies. But the
Northern California meets up ~~~~
to 95 percent of San Diego
County’s needs. And the task remains the same.
Authority is working to
ensure that the region has an adequate
water supply in the future.
In 1996, my first year as the
Authority’s general manager, our
efforts in this regard progressed on sev-
eral fronts. We published a draft of the
updated Water Resources Plan, the
Authority’s roadmap for meeting its
mission over the next two decades.
The draft plan details six ways to
make sure San Diego County has the
water it needs. Later this winter, the
Authority’s directors will decide which
of the alternatives to pursue.
As work on the Water Resources
Plan proceeded, the Authority contin-
ued to study a potential water transfer
agreement with the Imperial Irrigation
District (IID). The Authority and IID
drew up draft terms for such an agree-
ment, which may provide water to San
Diego County well into the future.
We aggressively sought public
input on the draft water transfer terms,
making close to 100 presentations to
water agencies, city councils and com-
munity groups. The feedback we
received will help guide us when we
linking the
Colorado and
coastal Southern
California.
The
Authority also
made substantial
progress on a
project to ensure
that the region has enough water to
withstand a prolonged disruption of
imported water deliveries without suf-
fering sustained economic and environ-
mental damage. Authority directors
certified the final environmental
impact report and selected a preferred
ahernative for the Emergency Water
Storage Project.
In 1997, we hope to gain the
required federal permit from the U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers under the
Clean Water Act. In addition, Authority
staffwill ask directors to authorize the
proposed project funding and
construction schedule.
The Authority continued work on
its ongoing programs in 1996 as well.
For example, through our ongoing
Capital Improvement Program we
invested $44 million in building new
pipelines and expanding existing facili-
ties to maintain efficient, effective water
delivery throughout the region.
In addition, we worked with our
member agencies on water reclamation
and groundwater development
programs that will increase the amount
of local water available to the region
each year. We also continued to edu-
cate local residents about the region’s
water supply and promote water con-
servation methods.
Efforts to fos-
ter conser-
vation, reuse
water, arrange
water transfers
and build emer-
gency facilities
indicate that
the Authority’s
role has evolved
in the half-ten-
tury since San
Vicente
Reservoir
began to fill
with imported
water.
At the heart of the matter, though,
the Authority retains the same mission - to secure and deliver water to our
customers, the member agencies, who
in turn provide it directly to consumers.
The water sources may change, as
may the strategies to obtain new sup-
plies. But the task remains the same.
Maureen A. Stapleton
General Manager
WaterTalk 3
Delivery of
transfer water
Arrangement of a cooperative
water conservation and transfer agree-
ment between the Water Authority
and the Imperial Irrigation District
(IID) hinges on several factors. Among
the most important contingencies is
water conveyance.
Water that is conserved in the
Imperial Valley and transferred from
IID to the Authority would come from
the Colorado River. Only one facility
carries water from the river to San
Diego County - the Colorado River
Aqueduct, which is owned by the
Metropolitan Water District of
Southern California (MWD).
The Authority has been negotiat-
ing with MWD concerning use of the
aqueduct to deliver transfer water.
Following are some typical questions
about the negotiations, along with the
Authority’s answers.
Q. Has M3VD proposed a plan
allowing the Authority to use the
Colorado River Aqueduct to convey
transfer water?
A. MWD issued a framework pro-
posal on Nov. 19, 1996 that would
enable the Authority to transfer water
through the Colorado River Aqueduct.
The MWD framework was a response
to an initial approach by the Authority
last April.
Q. How much water could the
Authority convey each year under the
MWD proposal?
A. Two-hundred-thousand acre-
feet per year. MWD has offered to let
the Authority take over an existing
transfer agreement between MWD and
IID that would provide about half of
the water to be transferred, as long as
the Authority assumes all of the pro-
gram’s costs. The rest of the water
could come from the proposed
Authority-IID water transfer program.
Q. How has the Authority respond-
ed to MWD’s proposal?
A. The Authority proposes to
secure 200,000 acre-feet of new trans-
fer water annually from IID and deliv-
er it through the Colorado River
Aqueduct.
Q. What about the idea of assum-
ing all costs and benefits of the exist-
ing MWD-IID transfer program?
A. The Authority is evaluating the
MWD-IID program. If it agrees to take
over the program, the Authority would
gain another 106,000 acre-feet per
year, bringing the total transfer
amount conveyed through the
Colorado River Aqueduct each year to
306,000 acre-feet.
Q. What are the other provisions
of MWD’s proposal?
A. MWD is calling for the
Authority to cover its share of
Metropolitan’s fixed costs through
fixed payments such as MWD’s readi-
ness-to-serve charge, water rates and
charges to convey transfer water
through the aqueduct. The Authority
is agreeable with this approach.
Q. An Authority-IID transfer pro-
gram would bring additional water of a
highly reliable nature into urban
Southern California. How would MWD
recognize this regional benefit?
A. The Authority will work with
MWD to calculate a dollar figure for
how an Authority-IID transfer would
benefit the region. MWD would credit
this amount against the proposed
wheeling rate. The Authority also
would be credited for its fixed
payments toward MWD’s current capi-
tal improvement program.
Q. MWD asked the Authority to
support MWD’s attempt to change
Colorado River operations in a way
that will make more water available
from the river and allow MWD to bank
- or store - water for future use.
What is the Authority’s response?
A. Water banking is critical to the
effort to use Colorado River water as
efficiently as possible. The Authority
seeks a unified position on river reop-
eration and water banking that is sup
ported by all of California’s Colorado
River contractors and is acceptable to
other Colorado River states.
F@
4 WaterTalk
“Since 1993,
market forces have
created a situation
where water transfers
may be attractive
as a long-term
supply”.
Alternatives combine water from s
The draft Water Resources Plan
outlines and evaluates six alternatives
for meeting San Diego County’s water
needs over the next two decades.
Each alternative represents a dif-
ferent mix of resources, including
water imported through the
Metropolitan Water District (MWD),
local supplies and water transfers.
Presently, the San Diego region
relies on water imported from the
Colorado River and Northern
California rivers for up to 95 percent
of its supply. The rest of the region’s
supply comes from rivers, lakes and
wells filled with water resulting from
rainfall and snowmelt.
The six alternatives considered in
the updated Water Resources Plan dif
fer in the degree to which they rely on
water imported through MWD and in
the amount of new local supplies that
are developed.
Depending on the alternative, the
percentage of dependence on MWD
would range from 21 to 85 percent in
2015.
Each of the alternatives calls for
increased development of local water
resources beyond surface water and
groundwater. This water would result
from water reclamation programs,
Forecast of water demand forms foul
Forecasts of future water needs
provide the basis for everything the
Authority will do in terms of maintain-
ing existing water supplies and devel-
oping new ones.
The 1997 Water Resources Plan
projects water demand through 2015,
using two separate forecasts of needs
for municipal and industrial uses and
for agriculture. (“Municipal and indus-
trial” is defined as water use in
businesses, homes, schools, parks - in
essence, all use except agricultural.)
computer model developed specifical
for the agency to reach its conclusion
about municipal and industrial water
use.
The model used an extensive
demographic and water use database
to generate projections. Projected
demographic data came from the Sar
Diego Association of Governments
(SANDAG), while the Authority’s
member agencies provided informa-
tion about water use and pricing. The
Metropolitan Water District (MWD)
The Authority then
adjusted the forecast to
account for lower demand
due to conservation mea-
sures, including installation
of efficient plumbing fix-
tures, planting of low-water-
use landscaping and gener-
al water-wise behavior.
The updated plan pre-
dicts that the region will
use 785,000 acre-feet in
2015, a figure that was
reduced by about 10 per-
cent because of conserva-
tion. Agriculture accounts
for about 11 percent of the
demand.
The Authority used a
Water demand forecast 2015
Total farecast: 785,000 acre-feet
Uanioipal & lndurtrkrl
An acre-fc$c$ is 326,000 $g&ons, enough water 10 m#et
tha annual Ixwsehold rteeds of RN0 average families.
h h
WaterTalk 5
reral sources
expanded development of groundwa-
ter and possibly desalination of seawa-
ter.
The Authority staff recommends a
mix of water resources in the draft
1997 plan that calls for the region to
supplement imported water from
MWD with transfers and increased
local supplies.
Imported water through MWD
would make up between 54 and 60
percent of the regional supply in 2015.
One-quarter of the supply would
result from transfers; reclaimed water
and increased groundwater would pro-
vide the rest.
iation of plan
supplied weather data and helped to
convert demographic information to
projected water use.
But the computer model was not
designed to forecast demand for water
used by agriculture. Instead, the
Authority made projections based on a
1993 study of local agricultural use and
data compiled by MWD.
Plan represents roadmap.. .
Continued j-m page 1
September 1996. The update represents
a comprehensive survey of more than 50
existing and potential new water sources
for the San Diego region.
A further update incorporating
changes based in part on public input
was released in January 1997. The
Authority board of directors is expected
to consider and approve the updated
plan in February.
The revised Water Resources Plan is
intended to reasonably estimate the
region’s future water requirements and
recommend the best mix of water
resources for meeting those needs, says
Authority Water Resources Director
Water transfers represent
potential resource for region
The Water Authority has considered
water transfers - the sale or lease of
water from one willing party to another - as a possible supply for San Diego
County for several years.
The notion of purchasing water
from another agency represents one of
the region’s greatest potential resources
aside from water imported through the
Metropolitan Water District (MWD),
says Peter MacLaggan, the Authority’s
water resources director.
The 1993 plan included a provision
for water transfers, but only as an option
to be used when shortages reduce nor-
mal supplies imported through MWD.
For example, the Authority purchased
water from the State Water Bank in
1991-92 to lessen the severity of
cutbacks caused by the six-year drought.
The draft updated plan examines
water transfers as an option that would
be part of San Diego County’s core sup-
ply, along with MWD imports and local
supplies. Transfer water would replace
some of the water the Authority imports
through MWD.
“Since 1993, market forces have cre-
Peter MacLaggan.
The 1997 draft also provides a frame-
work through which the Authority can
evaluate different water supply options
against each other.
The revised plan analyzes six alterna-
tives, each of which is a different mix of
imported and local water resources.
Four of the alternatives represent an
approach that is fundamentally different
from that presented in 1993 because of
its reliance on water transfers,
MacLaggan said. Of the other two alter-
natives, one maintains the strategy
defined in the 1993 plan and another
examines the other the maximum devel-
opment of local water resources.
“In the past, we considered water
transfers only in dry years, to make up
ated a situation where water transfers
may be attractive as a long-term supply,
to be used during normal weather years
as well as insuring against drought,”
according to the plan.
The Authority might arrange water
transfers from agencies in various parts
of California. For example, the
Authority is negotiating with the
Imperial Irrigation District for the long-
term transfer of conserved Colorado
River water.
The Authority also might set up
transfers with agricultural water-users in
central or Northern California.
the difference when imported water
from the Metropolitan Water District ran
short like it did in 1991,” he said. “Now
we are looking at transfers as part of our
core supply.”
The 1997 update also differs from its
predecessor in its water demand forecast.
The 1993 plan projected a need for
830,000 acre-feet of water per year in
2010.
The updated plan forecasts water use
of 730,000 acre-feet in 2010 and 785,000
acre-feet in 2015.
The water use forecast is lower than
it was in 1993 largely because of reduced
projections of future population and eco
nomic growth made recently by the San
Diego Association of Governments
(SANDAG) , MacLaggan said.
Y- ? 6 WaterTalk
News briefs
WaterTalk wins two awards
WaterTalk, the Water Authority’s
community newsletter, won two awards
in the “special publications” category
of the 1996 San Diego Press Club
awards competition.
The publication, which is written
by Mark Stadler and designed by Sue
King, was chosen as the best external
publication. Both Stadler and King are
Public Affairs Department staff mem-
bers.
Stadler won second place in the
“single story, external publications” cat-
egory for a WaterTalk article about the
Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta.
$54 million pipeline
contract granted
The Water Authority board of
directors in December awarded a $54.4
million contract to PCL Civil
Constructors for construction of a lo-
mile pipeline from San Marcos to
Poway.
The Ranch0 Penasquitos Pipeline
and related facilities will allow the
Authority to transport water more efft-
ciently to five filtration plants in San
Diego County.
When completed in July 1998, the
nine-foot-diameter welded steel
pipeline will be able to transport 400
million gallons a day.
Water tanks win Onion, Orchid
Two water tanks - one belonging
to the Helix Water District and another
a joint project of Helix and neighbor-
ing Padre Dam Municipal Water
District - have drawn a lot of atten-
tion, largely for their appearances.
The Helix district’s storage facility
in La Mesa was designed by John
Powell and Associates to double water
storage and stabilize the steep slopes
around the site. In addition, however,
the tank looks convincingly like a
house, so much so that local compa-
nies delivered recycling bins and tele-
phone directories to the site.
The tank was awarded an Orchid
for its environmental sensitivity and
was named project of the year by the
Structural Engineers.
The new combined tank in El
Cajon is a cooperative effort between
the Helix and Padre Dam districts. The
tank, which is 70 feet in diameter,
holds 2.5 million gallons of water for
Padre Dam and the lOO-foot-diameter
elevated tank stores 1.1 million gallons
for Helix. The facility is made of Cor-
Ten steel, which weathers to form an
outer layer that doesn’t flake and
doesn’t require paint.
The combined tank was awarded
the Grand Onion Committee for its
appearance. It is likely to earn more
positive recognition from the Steel
Plate Fabricators and the American
Society of Civil Engineers.
Students aid Olivenhain project
More than 200 students from three
elementary schools had a long-term
positive impact on their environment
recently when they participated in the
“Acorns to Oaks Project” sponsored by
the Olivenhain Municipal Water
District in cooperation with other local
organizations.
The students planted acorn seeds
in buckets at their schools. When the
seeds sprout into saplings, local high
school students will replant them at the
Elfin Forest Recreational Reserve,
which is managed by the Olivenhain
district and is the future home of a
regional reservoir.
Olivenhain is replacing non-native
eucalyptus trees in the reserve with
native oaks as part of its environmental
mitigation for the reservoir.
VID staff trained for trench rescue
Vista Irrigation District (VID)
employees joined with staff from other
local agencies recently to train in res-
cue techniques that may be necessary
during a trench cave-in.
The VID employees participated in
Vista Irrigation District employees train in trench
rescue techniques.
the exercise along with firefighters,
Wastewater Department and Parks and
Community Services staff from the city
of Vista. Among other things, the
employees practiced recovering a
dummy buried under four feet of dirt
in a collapsed trench.
Sweetwater opens fishing
area at Loveland Reservoir
The Sweetwater Authority has
opened a fishing area that spreads
across five miles of shoreline at
Loveland Reservoir.
The area replaces a half-mile fish-
ing section with extremely limited pub
lit access at the reservoir, located two
miles south of Alpine.
The new fishing area resulted from
a partnership between the Sweetwater
Authority and the U.S. Forest Service,
which manages Cleveland National
Forest lands near the reservoir. The
two agencies did a land swap that
allowed Sweetwater to acquire the
entire reservoir shoreline.
The Sweetwater Authority compris-
es two County Water Authority mem-
ber agencies, South Bay Irrigation
District and National City.
. P. WaterTalk 7
~ Three directors begin two-year terms as board officers
Christine M. Frahm of San Diego
began her two-year term as chair of the
34member Water Authority board of
directors Jan. 1.
Frahm was elected to a two-year
term as chair by her fellow directors in
December. She succeeded Spring
Valley resident Mark W. Watton, who
served as chair in 1995-96.
Also elected to two-year terms were
Joseph Parker of San Diego as vice-
chair and Harold W. Ball of La Mesa as
secretary.
Frahm has been an Authority
director since 1987; she is one of 10
city of San Diego representatives on the
board.
Among other assignments, she has
chaired the board’s water policy and
fiscal policy committees, as well as the
Ad Hoc Imported Water Committee.
Since 1992, Frahm has been one of
the Authority’s six representatives to
the Metropolitan Water District of
Southern California (MWD) board of
directors.
She also chairs the Greater San
Diego Chamber of Commerce
Infrastructure Committee. She was a
member of the Development Fee Task
Force, which was organized by the San
Diego City Council to study and make
recommendations regarding the vari-
ous development fees and charges in
the city.
She is a graduate of the University
of Southern California, where she
received a juris doctor degree in 1976.
She is in private practice as an attorney
in San Diego.
Parker, who was elected to his sec-
ond term as the board’s vice-chair, has
been a director from the city of San
Diego since 1986. He also served as
Authority director from 1977 to 1982.
He was secretary of the board from
1993-1994. He has chaired the public
information and engineering and oper-
ations committees and the right-of-way
protection and logo subcommittees.
He has been one of the Authority’s
representatives to the MWD board
since 1993 and is vice-chair of the Land
Committee.
Parker has worked for more than 35
years as a physicist and chemist in the
electronics components industry. Since
1981, he has been president of Electrink
Inc., a research and development firm
in the Miramar area.
He received a bachelor’s degree in
chemical engineering from New York
University, a master’s degree in physical
chemistry from Howard University and
a doctorate in physical chemistry from
Catholic University of America.
Ball has been the board’s secretary
since August, when he was elected to fill
an unexpired term. He has been an
Authority director since July 1995, rep-
resenting the Helix Water District.
He also is a Helix Water District
director, having been first elected to
that post in 1977. He has served three
two-year terms as Helix board president
and one as vice president.
An educator, he retired as a school
principal from the Lemon Grove School
District in 1986. He has bachelor’s and
master’s degrees from the University of
Southern California.
Association honors Mission Trails Pipeline project
The Water Authority’s Mission
Trails Pipeline and Flow Regulatory
Structure was named Best Large Project
of the Year by the San Diego-Imperial
County chapter of the American Public
Works Association.
The association recognized the pro-
ject for how it met engineering, envi-
ronmental, archaeological, environmen-
tal and community relations challenges.
The pipeline, made of welded steel
and 96 inches in diameter, runs for 1.6
miles through Mission Trails Regional
Park as a link in the Authority’s Capital
Improvement Program (CIP) .
The pipeline includes a 1,200-foot
long tunnel buried 30 feet under the
San Diego River and the remains of an
historic flume that carried water to the
Mission San Diego de Alcala in the early
19th century.
The flumejoined with a dam on
the San Diego River to become the first
water storage and delivery system estab-
lished by Europeans in what is now the
western United States.
As stated in the Authority’s descrip
tion of the project, the tunnel was
designed to “avoid disturbance of the
sensitive riparian habitat (in the park)
and preserve the historic Mission
Flume.”
The Mission Trails pipeline, com-
pleted last year, is part of a larger
pipeline that will stretch for more than
30 miles between Lake Miramar and
Lower Otay Reservoir and carry treated
water to the southern county.
The Authority initiated its CIP in
1989 to plan and implement projects
that will assure reliable water deliveries
well into the 21st century.
The CIP will allow the Authority to
bring more water into the county and
deliver it efficiently and effectively
throughout the region.
8 WaterTalk
MEMBER AGENCIES
Cities
Del Mar
Escondido
National City
Oceanside
Poway
San Diego
Water Districts
Helix
Otay
San Dieguito
County Water District
Vallecitos
Irrigation Districts
Santa Fe
South Bay
Vista
Public Utility District
Fallbrook
Federal Agency
Pendleton Military
Reservation
Municipal Water Districts
Carlsbad
Olivenhain
Padre Dam
Rainbow
Ramona
Rincon del Diablo
Valley Center
Yuima
County
San Diego (ex officio)
New director from San Dieguito joins Authority board
John Davis of Cardiff by the Sea joined
the Water Authority board of directors in
January as the new representative from the
San Dieguito Water District.
Davis replaced James Bond, who has
served on the board for four years.
Davis has been an Encinitas City coun-
cilmember since 1990. He is beginning his
second term as mayor; the first term was in
1992-1993. (The Encinitas City Council
serves as the San Dieguito Water District
board of directors.)
Prior to joining the city council, he was
on the Cardiff elementary school board
from 1982-1990.
Davis is an insurance broker in
Encinitas and has worked in that field since
1961. Before that, he spent 20 years in the
Navy and retired as a chief aviation
electronics technician.
A Pennsylvania native, he received a
business degree from the Armed Forces
Institute in 1960.
The San Dieguito Water District serves
approximately 36,000 people living in
Encinitas, Leucadia and Cardiff by the Sea.
Nearly half of San Dieguito’s water sup-
ply is imported through the Water
Authority and the rest comes from local
sources.
*
The San Diego County Water Authority More information is avaitabfe about the
’ c
works through its 24 member agencies to Authorky on its home page, which may be
supply water to more than 2.6 mill&t San found on the Worfd Wide Web at
0 Diego County residents. The Autos was h~~~,csusm.ed~~mmuni~/
e established as a pubiic agency in 1944 to sdcw&sdowa.htm.
*
a
import water for wholesafing to its member After reading WaterTalk, please pass it
q
agencies. Sinoe it began defiv%ring water in to someone else. If you would like to be on
1947, the Authority has consistentfy ensured the WaterTalk mailing list or want more infor-
c that county residents have a safe and reli- mation about the Water Authority, call the
me
able water supply. Public Affairs Department at (619)
The Authority, which encompasses 6824100.
907,096 acres, is governed by a 34-member
board of directors representing the member WaterTdlc Copyright @ 1996
agencies. San Diego County Water Authority
The Authority is a member of the All rights r%serv%d
Metropolitan Water District of Southern Editor: Mark Stadler
California, which supplies water from the Design: Sue King
Colorado River and fhe State Water Project PubJic Affairs Director:
to 27 member agencies. Patricia A. Tennyson
San Diego County
Water Authority
3211 Fifth Avenue
San Diego, CA 92103
Bulk Rate
U.S. Postage
PAID
Permit No. 2686
San Diego, CA
@
PRINTED ON RECYCLED PAPER
H The San Diego County Water
Authority was organized June 9, 1944,
to augment local water resources with a
safe, reliable supply of imported water.
The Authority fulfills this mission today
by importing water through the
Metropolitan Water District of Southern
California (MWD). Typically, 75 to 90
percent of the county’s water is
imported.
n 1997 is the 50th anniversary of the
arrival of imported water in San Diego
County. The county’s first delivery of
imported water made the journey from
the Colorado River and flowed into San
Vicente Reservoir Nov. 26, 1947.
H Depending on the time of year,
between 75 and 100 percent of the water
delivered by MWD to San Diego County
comes from the Colorado
exceeds exacting federal and state water
quality standards.
n The Authority encompasses 909,000
acres and supports a $67 billion annual
economy. It consists of six cities, three
water districts, three irrigation districts,
eight municipal water districts, one pub-
lic utility district, one federal agency and
one county water district. The county of
San Diego, which doesn’t deliver water,
is an ex-officio member agency.
n Ninety-seven percent of San Diego
County’s 2.7 million residents live within
the Authority service area. The popula-
tion served by the Authority is expected
to reach 3.8 million by 2015. Water
demand is projected to increase from
597,000 acre-feet in 1996 to 787,000
acre-feet in 2015.
River via a 242-mile aque-
duct. The State Water Project San Diego County Water Use
Commercial 13%
Public
& Other
12%
supplies the rest from the’
Sacramento-San Joaquin River
Delta through the 444-mile
California Aqueduct.
Residential
54%
n The Authority takes deliv-
ery of water from MWD
approximately six miles south
of the Riverside-San Diego
Countv line and transports it
through five large-diameter
pipelines to 23 retail water
agencies in San Diego County. These
agencies in turn deliver water directly to
homes, businesses and other users.
Authority water deliveries to its member
agencies totaled 446,000 acre-feet of
water in 1996.
n About half of the water supplied by
the Authority already has undergone rig-
orous filtration treatment at MWD’s Lake
Skinner facility in south Riverside County
and is ready to drink. The rest receives
similarly thorough filtration treatment at
local facilities. All of the water meets or
n The Authority is governed by a 34-
member board of directors appointed by
the member agencies. The directors are
business and civic leaders with diverse
professional and technical backgrounds
who live or work in the communities
they represent.
n Staff costs represent three percent of
the Authority’s $323.2 million budget&or
fiscal 1997-98. The budget breaks down
as follows: $70.8 million for construction
of pipelines and other capital projects,
Continued on back page
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*: .&z’ ‘b: 6. . . site address- http://www.csusm.edu/community/sdcwa/sdcwa.htm.
$&, “’
SAN DIEGO COUNTY WATER AUTHORITY
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Water for San Diego County
The story of the San Diego region
centers around an ongoing effort to
secure and maintain a safe, reliable
and sufficient water supply. The San
Diego County Water Authority’s task
on the brink of the 21 st century is the
same one that has faced people in this
semi-arid region for centuries -to
meet needs by moving water from one
place to another.
The Spanish missionaries and sol-
diers who established the Mission San
Diego de Alcala-in 1769 quickly
found the local water supply to be
unreliable unless it was managed care-
fully. They began building a dam that
still exists in the Mission Trails
Regional Park. The Mission Dam and
the flume that carried water to the mis-
sion was the first such storage and
delivery system built by Europeans in
the American west.
Efforts to manage water continued
as San Diego grew. Despite some tem-
porary shortages, water from rivers,
reservoirs and wells proved adequate
until World War II, when the county
became a focus for the military’s con-
struction and support programs. The
population virtually doubled in six
years and the local water supply was
unable to meet the vastly increased
demand.
Responding to the situation, local
leaders successfully sought state legis-
lation allowing creation of the San
Diego County Water Authority. Local
voters supported establishment of the
regional water agency by a 15-I mar-
gin in May 1944, and the Authority
opened its doors for business three
weeks later.
Charged with the responsibility of
supplementing the local water supply
with imported sources, the Authority
joined the Metropolitan Water District
of Southern California in late 1946. A
year later, Colorado River water trans-
ported across the Mojave Desert
through Metropolitan’s aqueduct
flowed down a 71-mile pipeline and
splashed into San Vicente Reservoir for
the first time.
Today, San Diego County relies on
water imported by the Authority via
Metropolitan for between 75 and 90
percent of its total supply, depending
on local conditions. The Authority is
seeking to diversify the region’s water
supply rather than depending so heav-
ily on one source. The Authority also is
acting to ensure that sufficient water
will be on hand to meet San Diego
County’s future needs, given that the
county’s population is projected to
grow by about one-third to 3.8 million
by 2015.
This effort involves a more con-
certed effort to develop local water
supplies through recycling and
groundwater development programs. It
also includes detailed analysis of water
transfer opportunities, through which
the Authority would buy water that has
been conserved in otherregions, pri-
marily farming communities. The
potential long-term water conservation
and transfer program with the Imperial
Irrigation District is an example of
such opportunities.
Member Agencies
1 Carlsbad Municipal Water District
2 Del Mar (City)
3 Escondido (City)
4 Fallbrook Public Utility District
5 Helix Water District
6 National City (City)
7 Oceanside (City)
8 Olivenhain Municipal Water District
9 Otay Water District
10 Padre Dam Municipal Water District
11 Pendleton Military Reservation
12 Poway (City)
13 Rainbow Municipal Water District
14 Ramona Municipal Water District
15 Rincon Del Diablo Municipal Water District
16 San Diego (City)
17 San Dieguito Water District
18 Santa Fe Irrigation District
19 South Bay Irrigation District
20 Vallecitos Water District
21 Valley Center Municipal Water District
22 Vista Irrigation District
23 Yuima Municipal Water District
San Diego County is ex-officio member
./--
SAN DIEGO COUNTY WATER AUTHORITY
Con hued from iron t page
$190.7 million to buy water from MWD,
$17.6 million for operations and mainte-
nance expenses, $43.5 million to ser-
vice debt resulting from the sale of
bonds to finance capital projects and
$650,000 to establish an equipment
replacement fund.
n The Authority’s assets are valued at
approximately $1.2 billion. The assets
include five regional pipelines, two
hydroelectric plants, three control sta-
tions, one pump station and other facil-
ities.
n The Authority is in the midst of a
major Capital Improvement Program
initiated in 1989. Through this program,
the Authority is enhancing and expand-
ing its regional water delivery system to
meet local water needs well into the
next century. Roughly 75 cents of every
dollar the Authority raises through water
sales goes to improve the regional water
delivery system.
n The Authority is acting to ensure that
the region’s water needs are met if an
earthquake or other emergency disrupts
imported water deliveries for a pro-
longed period. Authority directors have
certified an environmental impact report
for an emergency storage system, which
includes a new reservoir in the
Olivenhain area that would be connect-
ed to nearby Lake Hodges. San Vicente
Reservoir would be expanded as part of
the system, which would add 90,100
acre-feet of reservoir capacity set aside
for emergency use within the county.
The Authority has not allocated any
funds to construct the system.
n The Water Resources Plan outlines
how the Authority will act with its mem-
ber agencies to develop a water supply
significantly different than that which the
July 1997 l Printed on recycled paper
county has today. Rather than rely on a
single supplier - MWD - for most of
its water, the county by 2015 would get
approximately 55-60 percent of its water
from MWD, 25 percent from water
transfers and the rest from local sources.
n The Authority is investigating water
transfers as a way to help meet the
county’s future water needs. One poten-
tial transfer under study would involve
purchase by the Authority of water con-
served in the Imperial Valley. The
Authority and the Imperial Irrigation
District have agreed to draft terms for
the agreement, which would last for at
least 75 years and transfer a minimum
of 200,000 acre-feet of water per year to
San Diego County by 2009.
n The Authority is researching and
developing innovative ways to increase
San Diego County’s dependable supply
of local water. Among the methods
being used or under study are water
reclamation, water repurification,
groundwater development and recovery,
and desalination.
n Seventeen water reclamation facili-
ties produced 9,800 acre-feet of water
for irrigation and other non-potable pur-
poses in the San Diego region in 1996.
Another 19 such projects are in the
planning stages. Combined, these pro-
jects are expected to produce up to
60,000 acre-feet of water for reuse by
2015.
H Water repurification is the advanced
treatment of reclaimed water so it may
be safely stored in a reservoir serving all
uses, including human consumption.
The Authority is supporting analysis by
the city of San Diego of the public
health, cost and technical issues associ-
ated with using repurification to supple-
ment the region’s existing water supply.
San Diego is conducting further tests of
the process and developing an environ-
mental impact report on the facilities
needed to produce repurified water.
n The Authority and other local water
agencies plan to spend more than $5
million in fiscal 1997-98 to promote
water conservation as a way of life for
the San Diego region. With these funds,
local agencies educate people about
why they should use water efficiently
and how they can do so. They also help
to provide ultra-low-flush toilets and
other water-efficient plumbing fixtures
to county residents. In addition, the
Authority funds several programs that
evaluate water use in homes and busi-
nesses and recommend ways usage can
be more efficient.
n San Diego County students in kinder-
garten through 12th grade learn about
water sources and delivery, critical water
issues and conservation through the
Authority’s school education program.
The program offers classroom presenta-
tions by Authority staff, in-service training
for teachers, specialized curriculum, a
mobile science laboratory, a traveling
library program and a theater production
for elementary school students.
n Extensive information about the
Authority is available on the World
Wide Web at http://www.csusm.edu/
community/sdcwa/sdcwa.htm. The
Authority home page includes director
biographies, Authority history, facts and
figures about programs and projects,
information about member agencies,
articles from recent Authority publica-
tions and news releases.
N The Authority will gladly send a
knowledgeable speaker to community
groups interested in learning more
about the agency and general water
issues. Please call 619-682-4125 for
more information.
Q fan hgo County water Authority COLORADO RIVER ISSUES
ALLOCAllON OF SUPPLIES
n Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming, American Indian
tribes and Mexico all have rights to use Colorado River supplies.
n The “Law of the River” governs how Colorado River water is to be shared among the
States and other users.
n The 1922 Colorado River Compact divided the water between upper and lower basin
States, with 7.5 million acre-feet annually to each. Mexico also is entitled to-receive 1.5
million acre-feet.
n Lower Basin States’ Colorado River
water apportionments are:
California: 4,400,OOO acre-feet
Arizona: 2,800,OOO acre-feet
Nevada: 300,000 acre-feet
CALIFORNIA’S USAGE OF
COLORADO RIVER SUPPLIES
n California’s historical use has been up
to 5200,000 acre-feet annually. Colorado River Apportionments & 1996 Use
H In the past, California’s usage was
allowed to exceed its apportionment
because Nevada and Arizona were not
using all of theirs. The Metropolitan
Water District (MWD) used
most of these available supplies.
n These “unused apportionments” from
Arizona and Nevada are diminishing,
due to their states’ increased water
demands. In 1997 and beyond, Nevada
and Arizona are expected to use nearly
all of their Colorado River supplies,
leaving very little excess for California
to continue using.
- In the past, California has exceeded its annual apporticmnent of 4.4
million acre-feet per year by using surplus suppris, or unused
apportionments from other states.
- Well over onehaY of MWD’s Colorado River Aqueduct, at its fuH capacity
of 1.2 msiin acre&et per year, has been filled with these surplus suppliis or unused apportiinments. Such supplies are unreliable and will soon be no longer avaitable. Steps must be taken now to ensure reliable Cokwado River supplies in the future.
n MWD’s Colorado River Aqueduct has been kept full in the past two years primarily
due to annual declarations of availability of “surplus water” by Interior Secretary Bruce
Babbitt. However, the Secretary has stated, “Conditions of abundance will not always
prevail, and users in the Lower Basin cannot depend on surpluses always being
available.”
CONCERNS OF OTHER STATES
n All of the other Colorado River Basin states are concerned with California’s perceived
lack of progress to reduce its dependency on “their” unused apportionments and/or
surplus water. They are concerned that when surplus water is no longer available,
their rights to the Colorado River water may be harmed. They insist that California
develop and implement an enforceable plan to reduce its use of Colorado River water
to its 4.4 million acre-foot apportionment.
n Secretary of Interior Babbitt also urged California to develop a plan to reduce its use
of Colorado River water when necessaryVoluntary water transfers between agricultural
and urban areas were among several measures mentioned by Secretary Babbitt which will
foster more efficient use of water in California.
n The San Diego County Water Authority’s proposed water conservation and transfer
program with the Imperial Irrigation District (IID) is one example of what California can
do to reduce its dependency on other states’ water and/or surplus Colorado River water.
FUTURE AVAILABILITY OF CAPACITY IN THE COLORADO RIVER AQUEDUCT
If California does not make substantial progress toward developing and implementing a
program to reduce its Colorado River water use, the other six states have clearly stated
they will not support future surplus declarations.
Without a surplus declaration, and with Arizona and Nevada taking most, if not all, of their
apportionments, California will have to cut its Colorado River use by 25 percent, to
4.4 million acre-feet. MWD will bear the brunt of this reduction, losing almost half of the
water carried in a full Colorado River Aqueduct.
Such a reduction will have a serious impact on California’s water supply and its cost.
MWD’s aqueduct will be less than one-half full. Steps must be taken immediately to make
up for this lost supply. The Authority’s plan is to invest in conservation in the Imperial
Valley and “wheel” these supplies through the Colorado River Aqueduct. Wheeling occurs
when one agency conveys water through another agency’s facility.
Even in the event that water supply conditions are above normal for the next few years
and the Department of Interior continues to declare surpluses, it takes time to make con-
servation investments and produce additional supplies. We must begin making these invest-
ments now to prepare for the future and demonstrate to other states that California can
and will live within its apportionment.
California’s economy can no longer depend on unreliable Colorado River supplies.
MAY1997
-..
b Son Diogo County Wotu Authority COST-SHIFTING
PREFACE
The San Diego County Water Authority has proposed a water transfer with Imperial Irrigation District (IID)
which will provide coastal Southern California with a new water supply. The Authority’s plan is to annually
transport up to 200,000 acre-feet of water by the year 2008 through the Colorado River Aqueduct, owned by
the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD), and paid for by all of its ratepayers, including
the San Diego County Water Authority. However, many of the MWD member agencies are concerned the water
transfer will shift costs to them, causing water rates to increase. This is not true for a number of reasons.
n The Authority’s water transfer creates cost savings, not cost-shifting.
n The water transfer will provide coastal Southern California with a new water supply paid for by the
Authority and valued at more than $1 billion over the next 25 years.
l The water transfer will assist in obtaining continued access for an interim time to additional Colorado
River water surpluses valued at more than $75 million annually These water supplies will benefit all
MWD member agencies and MWD would save the cost of buying these supplies elsewhere.
n The Authority will pay full cost of operation, maintenance, power and replacements directly related to
the conveyance of the transfer water in accordance with applicable state law.
n In addition to paying these water transportation charges, the Authority will continue to pay its fair share
of MWD’s capital costs and continue to be MWD’s biggest water customer.
COST-SHIFTING AT MWD
n
n
n
n
Cost-shifting occurs when agencies reduce their
existing water purchases from MWD or shift to
alternate sources of water supplies such as other
imported supplies, local groundwater or reclama-
tion.
MWD sales have declined more than 33 percent
since 1991 as many agencies have shifted to other
water resources to meet demands.
The Authority’s water transfer is not a replacement
for current water purchases from MWD. No exist
ing purchases nor costs will be shifted. 1
MWD Water Sales
Fiscal Years 1991-92 through 1995-96
1991 1992 1963 1994 1996 1996 I
A $4 billion capital improvement program is under way at MSVD while MWD agencies, other than the
Authority, are shifting to alternate water supplies and reducing water purchases. The Authority has consis
tently urged MWD to reconsider its plans in light of reduced purchases by MWD member agencies or until
its member agencies commit to pay for these facilities.
Unless financial commitments are made or future capital plans and costs are scaled-down, MWD’s exist-
ing and future cost burden will continue to be shifted to a handful of agencies like the Authority which
depend on MWD for a majority of their water supplies.
AUTHORITY’S COMMITMENT
n The Authority is committed to remaining a substantial member of MWD.
n If, like some other agencies, the Authority replaced its current purchases from MWD with alternative
resources, hWD water rates would have to increase more than $125 an acre-foot. The Authority believes the
best financial alternative for the Southern California region and the most reliable resource mix for the
Authority includes a combination of imported supplies purchased from MWD, increased local supply
development, and water transfers.
n To provide revenue stability to MWD and prevent cost-shifting, the Authority offered to make a fixed commit-
ment to be paid annually regardless of quantities of water ordered or transported. No other member agency
has offered to make any commitment to pay for planned MWD facilities.
Total Water Deliveries from MWD
Five Year Average (FYSZ-96)
4ofJ,~--
=x~--
=cwo--
25o,ooo--
200,ooo--
15o,ooo--
SUMMARY
The Authority’s water ttansfer plan does not shift costs. It creates cost savings.
The Authority will pay to h4WD all costs directly related to conveying the transfer water.
The Authority’s offer to make an annual fixed commitment payment to MWD, regardless of the quantities
of water purchased or transported, would provide MWD with revenue stabiity for existing financial obligations.
Under the Authority’s proposal, a new firm and secure water supply for Southern California will be created
that is valued at $1 billion over the next 25 years.
The water transfer will help California live within its 4.4 million acre-foot apportionment and promote contin-
ued access by MWD to potential Colorado River surpluses valued at an additional $75 million annually, beneflt-
ing the economic vitality of all urban Southern California
MWD’s water rates would increase $125 an acre-foot if the Authority is forced to replace its current purchases from MWD with alternate water supplies.
MAY 1997
SAN DIEGO COUNTY WATEr. AUTHORITY
Agency addresses
cost-shift issues
The Water Authority and the
Imperial Irrigation District (IID) have
reached draft terms for a water conser-
vation and transfer program that would
begin in 1999 and last for at least 75
years.
Many of the Authority’s fellow
member agencies in the Metropolitan
Water District of Southern California
(MWD) are concerned that their water
rates will
ing MWD more than $1 billion it other-
wise would have to spend over the
next quarter-century to develop its
own new supplies.
The water transfer also will help
California to live within its apportion-
ment of Colorado River water, which is
important because the state is under
tie for regularly using more than its
share. MWD accounts for about 70 per-
cent of the overuse.
If California demonstrates it is act-
ing to reduce its use of river water
through programs such as the water
transfer proposed by the
_-- Authority, the state
of the proposed “An Aut.hority-IID should gain continued
water transfer.
Their concern is water transfer access on an interim
basis to surplus river
caused in part program will save water valued at more
by the than $75 million annual-
Authority’s plan money for MWD and ly. Availability of this
to convey trans-
ferred water its member agencies.” ~o~!~f~u~:E~~~
through the the
Colorado River Aqueduct, which is
owned by MWD.
But the Authority has offered to
pay the full cost of operation, mainte-
nance, power and replacements direct-
ly related to wheeling of the trans-
ferred water in accordance with state
law. And the Authority will remain
MWD% largest customer, relying on the
district for a majority of its supply.
Transferred water from IID is not
intended to replace the Authority’s
existjng level of purchases from MWD;
rather, it will help the Authority to
meet projected future demand in San
Diego County. The Authority will con-
tinue to pay its fair share of MWDs
capital costs as well.
Beyond this, an Authority-IID
water transfer program will save
money for MWD and its member agen-
cies rather than shift costs to them.
Water resulting from the transfer - and paid for by the Authority -
w-ill provide coastal Southern California
with a new, reliable water supply, sav-
source.
ment water from another
Cost-shifting actually occurs when
member agencies reduce their existing
water purchases from MWD. The dis-
trict’s water sales have declined by
more than one-third in the last six
years as many member agencies have
switched to other water sources.
In the meantime, a $4 billion capi-
tal improvement program is under way
at MWD. The financial burden of this
program is being shifted to those agen-
cies such as the Authority that depend
on MWD for most of their water.
The Authority consistently has
urged MWD to reconsider its capital
plans in light of reduced water sales,
or at least until the member agencies
commit to pay the bill for all planned
facilities.
For its part, the Authority has
offered to make a fixed financial com-
mitment to MWD that would be paid
regardless of the amount of water
ordered or used. No other member
agency has offered to make such a
commitment, which would help stabi-
lize MWD’s revenues and prevent cost-
shifting.
If the Authority follows the lead of
other agencies and replaces its current
purchases from MWD with alternate
supplies, MWD will have to increase its
rates by more than $125 per acre-foot
to make up the different.
IID plays critical
role in Valley
“Survival and development in
Imperial Valley has always been
dependent on water and its availabil-
ity.”
This quote, taken from an Imperial
Irrigation District (IID) fact sheet, sums
up the critical role that IID plays in the
Imperial Valley. It also helps to explain
why IlD is negotiating with the Water
Authority toward an agreement that
may transfer at least 200,000 acre-feet
of conserved water annually from the
Imperial Valley to San Diego County.
IID, which is governed by a pub
licly elected five-member board, pro-
vides water and electricity to the lower
southeastern portion of the California
desert. The largest irrigation district in
the nation, IID delivers water from the
Colorado River that is used to irrigate
half-a-million acres of farmland every
year in the Valley.
The district also provides electricity
to customers in three counties.
With these duties, IID has a signifi-
cant responsibility for the Imperial
Valley’s economic well-being and it
acts vigorously to protect its water
fights.
According to a district pamphlet,
IID directors believe execution of a
water transfer agreement with the
Authority will help protect those rights
“by demonstrating to government and
other outside parties a strong commit-
ment to water conservation and a
era1 agency that manages the Colorado
River, built the canal during the 1930s;
the canal’s contractors repaid the U.S.
government for the work. The canal
Imperial
Irrigation
District
service area
(shaded)
tric power is much larger, extending to
more than 87,000 connections over
almost 6,500 square miles in Imperial,
Riverside and San Diego counties.
-
growing sophistication in conservation
measures. Our rights will be threatened if
we do not aggressively increase conser-
vation. ’
For its part, San Diego County will
gain a reliable water supply to supple-
ment the water it receives from other
sources.
Imperial Valley residents voted in
1911 to establish IID to acquire proper-
ties of the bankrupt California
Development Company, which owned a
canal that delivered water from the
Colorado River to the southern end of
the Valley.
IID sought to replace the canal with
one located entirely in the United States.
The All-American Canal, as it was named,
was authorizd by Congress in 1928
along with Boulder Dam (now Hoover
Dam) and Imperial Dam.
The Bureau of Reclamation, the fed-
delivered its first water to the Imperial
Valley in 1940.
Today, the 82mile canal carries
water to 6,300 farm accounts and other
residents in the Valley. IID’s annual deliv-
eries have ranged from 2.4 million to 3.1
million acre-feet over the past decade.
Ninety-eight percent of the water is
used to irrigate agricultural products
worth $1 billion per year. The rest goes
to nine Imperial County cities, which
treat it to safe drinking water standards
and serve it to their residents.
IID entered the power business in
1936. Prior to that time, electricity was
available only to those living in the
Valley’s urban areas. IID recognized it
could generate hydroelectric power from
five falling water drops along the All-
American canal.
While IID delivers water throughout
Imperial County, its service area for elec-
-
,&AN DIEGO COUNTY WATE AUTHORITY
Water conveyance
talks continue
When the Water Authority’s water
conservation and transfer program
involving Colorado River water is
complete, the Authority will need to
move the water from the river to San
Diego County.
The Authority has been negotiat-
ing with the Metropolitan Water
District of Southern California (MWD)
since January 19% concerning use of
the Colorado River Aqueduct to deliv-
er, or wheel, transferred water result-
ing from a potential agreement with
the Imperial Irrigation District (IID).
The aqueduct is the only canal
presently connecting the river and
coastal southem california
Under state law, the Authority
may wheel water in the aqueduct if:
n The Authority compensates
MWD for the operations, main-
tenance, power and deprecia-
tion costs of conveying the
water.
n MWD has capacity in the aque-
duct that would otherwise be
idle.
The Authority and MWD are con-
tinuing discussions concerning the
cost of wheeling. The Authority has
determined that capacity should be
available in the near future because
MWD stands to lose up to half of the
water it currently transports through
the aqueduct.
This supply loss will occur
because California must reduce its use
of Colorado River water to within its
apportionment.
The three states in the Colorado
River Lower Basin have a total annual
apportionment of 7.5 million acre-feet.
Of this, California gets 4.4 million
acre-feet, Arizona gets 2.8 million
acre-feet and Nevada gets 300,000
acre-feet.
However, the Lower Basin states
actually used about 8.2 million acre- ,
feet in 1996. Arizona and Nevada both
used close to their entire apportion-
ments, but California took 5.3 million
acre-feet, one-fifth more than its
apportioned share.
California regularly surpasses its
Colorado giver share, but this was the
first time the Lower Basin exceeded
its combined apportionment.
“Conditions of
abundance will not
always prevail, and
users in the Lower
Basin cannot depend
on surpluses always
being available.”
In the past, California was able to
exceed its apportionment because
Nevada and Arizona didn’t use all of
the water allocated to them. In the
last two years, of the availability of
surplus water allowed California to
take more than its share.
MWD accounted for about 70
percent of the surplus water
California used in 1996. Only about
half of the water in the Colorado
River Aqueduct - which has an
annual capacity of 1.2 million acre-
feet - results from MWD’s firm
apportionment.
The Secretary of the Interior must
determine each year whether surplus
conditions exist; such declarations
have occurred only twice, in 19%
and 1997.
Interior Sec. Bruce Babbitt
warned in a speech last December
that uconditions of abundance will
not always prevail, and users in the
Lower Basin cannot depend on sur-
pluses always being available.”
Babbitt said California must
develop a realistic, long-term plan to
live within its Colorado River appor-
tionment - and begin putting it into
effect.
The other six states that draw
water from the Colorado River also
have challenged California’s practice
of taking more water from the river
than its apportioned amount.
The six states’ representatives are
concerned that California water agen-
cies have made little progress toward
a coordinated plan to reduce their
Colorado River water use within the
state’s 4.4 million acre-feet entitle-
ment in normal years.
If California does not make sub
$antial progress toward developing
and implementing a defined, enforce-
able program to reduce its depen-
dence on Colorado River water over
its basic entitlement this year, the six
states will not support a surplus dec-
laration by Babbitt in 1998 or in
future years.
Without a surplus declaration,
and with Arizona and Nevada taking
almost all of their apportionments,
California will have to cut its
Colorado River use from 5.3 million
acre-feet to 4.4 million acre-feet.
MWDwillbearthebruntofthis
reduction, losing almost half of the
water carried in a full Colorado River
Aqueduct.
The Authority’s conservation and
water transfer program with IID will
provide additional supplies that will
help to alleviate the loss of this water
and keep the aqueduct full.
Plan includes
water transfers
San Diego County’s future water
supply should include a significant
amount of transferred water, according
to a plan adopted by Water Authority
directors.
The Water Resources Plan, originally
released in 1333 and updated this year,
will guide development of the regional
water supply through 2015.
The plan makes a reasonable esti-
mate of the count$s future water needs,
evaluates existing and potential water
supplies, and determines the best mix of
resources for meeting those needs.
It calls for the Authority to act with
its member agencies to develop a water
supply significantly different than that
which the region has today.
Depending ,on local conditions, San
Diego County gets between 75 and 95
percent of its water from one supplier,
the Metropolitan Water District of
Southern California (MWD), which
imports water to the region from the
Colorado River and Northern California
rivers. The rest of the county’s water
comes from local resources.
Under the updated Water Resources
Plan, San Diego County in 2015 will
have a diversified supply with three
major components:
w Water imported through MWD,
which will constitute between 55
and 60 percent of the county’s
supply.
knmwoceunty-~
3211 Fifth Ave.
San Dlego, CA 921W
1996 2015 (Potential)
H Local water sources, which will
contribute 15 to 20 percent.
These sources include lakes,
rivers and wells, as well as
expanded programs to recycle
water and develop additional
groundwater.
n Water resulting from conservation
and transfer programs, which will
make up 20 to 25 percent.
The Authority is negotiating to buy
conserved water on a long-term basis
from the Imperial Irrigation District (IID),
but the Water Resources Plan evaluates
transfers in a generic sense. The trans-
ferred water could come either from the
Colorado River, which is IID’s source, or
from Central or Northern California.
‘Ihe plan approved by Authority
directors is an updated version of a strat-
egy adopted four years ago. The revised
plan features greater diversity in import-
ed water sources and a stronger empha-
sis on water transfers.
Under the original plan, the region
was to import about 85 percent of its
water through MWD in 2010, with the
rest resulting from local sources. The
updated version reduces San Diego
County’s dependence on MWD, using
transferred water to replace some sup
plies that otherwise would be purchases
from MWD in the future.
The 1993 plan included water trans-
fers, but only as an option to be used
when shortages reduced normal supplies
from MWD. ‘Ihe Authority used transfers,
arranged through the State Water Bank,
to lessen the severity of drought-induced
cutbacks in 1991-1992.
The updated plan includes water
transfers as part of San Diego County’s
everyday supply, replacing some of the
water that the Authority had planned to
purchase from MWD to meet projected
future demand.
The plan estimates that after local
water conservation activities, the region
will use 787,080 acrefeet of water in
2015, a 30 percent increase over total
water use today.
Bulk Rate
U.S. Postage PAID
Permit No. 1
San Diego, CA
- -
I
SAN DIEGO COUNTY WATE,. AUTHORITY
Transfers ‘important
tool’ for river
management - Babbitt
Water transfer agreements such as
the one being discussed by the Water
Authority and the Imperial Irrigation
District (IID) are an “important tool”
that can help California live within its
Colorado River entitlement.
That was the message from Interior
Sec. Bruce Babbitt during his recent
tlement of 4.4 million acre-feet by about
20 percent.
This has been possible because
other states have not needed all of their
allotments and because surplus water
was available from the river.
But these “conditions of abun-
dance” will not always be present,
Babbitt warned.
In 1996, the three Lower Basin
states - California, Arizona and Nevada
- exceeded their combined entitlement
of 7.5 million acre-feet for the first time.
cient use of water from the river. Chief
among these measures was water trans-
fers between agricultural and urban
areas.
Babbitt singled out the proposed
water conservation and transfer pro-
gram between the Authority and IID,
calling it “an ambitious effort.”
Transfers from agricultural areas to
cities should be a key part of
California’s effort to limit its Colorado
River water use, he said.
The interior secretary said he plans
to act in several ways to
remove obstacles to water
transfers that will help “to
make the most effective use
of the limited resource we
have.”
address to the Colorado
River Water Users Association. ‘& Bureau
of Reclamation, the fdme
al agency responsible for
administering the ..: . ..’ :. . .
II I
Within California
l Palo Verde Irrigation District, Yuma Project, Imperial Irrigation District and Coachella Valley Water District share 3.85 million acre-foot entitlement
l Metropolitan Water District has 550,000 acre-foot entitle- ment
Additional entitlements
7.5 million acre-feet to Upper Basin states (Colorado, Wyoming, Utah and New Mexico and 1.5 million acre- feet to 1 exico
Colorado River, is part of the Interior
Department.
“I believe that water marketing is
an important tool that can help us to
use the water in the Colorado River
more effectively, and in particular that it
can be important in meeting California’s
long-term need to bring its demand in
line with available supply,” Babbitt said.
He noted that California usually
exceeds its annual Colorado River enti-
The three states’ demand for Colorado
River water is expected to top 8 million
acre-feet in 1997.
Babbitt said the federal government
will begin developing criteria for declar-
ing surplus conditions on the river. But
he said he wouldn’t fmalize the guide-
lines until California has an opportunity
to draw up a realistic, long-term conser-
vation plan that reduces its use of river
water when necessary,
Babbitt expressed support for sev-
eral measures that will foster more effi-
He will direct the Bureau
of Reclamation to:
n Promptly implement a
cooperative arrangement with
IID to determine the amount
of water the district is using
beneficially. This figure will
serve as a baseline from
which water may be con-
served and transferreh.
n Initiate a process to
develop water management
regulations focused on trans-
fers within states and also
among agencies in different Lower
Basin states. The latter transactions
would require state approvals; all
transfers would be between willing
sellers and buyers.
n Work with the involved parties
to clarify the relative water rights of
agricultural water agencies within
California. This effort would include
settlement of the “long-festering dis-
pute” between IID and the Coachella
Valley Water District over Colorado
River entitlements.
r
IID proposes long-term
framework for river
The Water Authority’s potential part-
ner in a water conservation and transfer
program has issued a blueprint for devel-
oping a long-term solution to problems
affecting Colorado River water supplies.
The Imperial Irrigation District’s (IID)
proposal features three elements that
form the basis for development of a
wgional Water Framework?
n Califomia would agree to meet its
needs for Colorado River water within its
4.4 million-acre-foot annual apportion-
ment by 2010, primarily through water
conservation and transfer programs.
n The operating strategy for Iake
Mead would be revised to satisfy a por-
tion of the unmet needs of water-users in
California, Arizona and Nevada. ‘Ihis
strategy would allow the release of water
in Lake Mead that is impounded for
flood control purposes and is likely To
spill during any subsequent five-year
period.
n All water-users in the Colorado
River Lower Basin would pay a fee for
using water that is unused by other states
or agen&s and de&red surplus. Money
from the fees would go into an augmen-
tation fund to develop and implement
plans that provide additional water for
the basirfs belle&.
IID issued the framework proposal
in conjunction with Interior Sec. Bruce
Babbitt’s speech before the Colorado
River Water Users Association.
According to an IID news release,
*okgecwn)y--fJoe
3211 Fifth Ave. San Dbgo, CA 92103
the propod offers an opportunity to
meet the needs of all seven Colorado
River Basin states while also addressing
requests by the other states that
California develop a plan to reduce its
use of river water within its entitlement.
Water conservation and transfer
agreements would form the cornerstone
of the Regional Water Framework, IID
said.
For such agreements to succeed,
California agencies must work out an
acceptable framework for the transport of
conserved water, IID said.
Authority, MWD
take legal ‘timeout’
The Water Authority and the
Metropolitan Water District of Southern
California (MWD) have agreed to take a
90day “timeout” on legal issues sur-
rounding the wheeling of water through
MWD facilities.
During the hiatus, the two agencies
will work toward a resolution of their dif-
ferences regarding use of MWD facilities
to transfer water for the Authority.
Wheeling occurs when an agency
conveys its water through a facility that
belongs to another agency. In this case,
the Authority may buy conserved water
from the Imperial Irrigation District and
convey it through MWD’s Colorado River
Aqueduct.
As part of the agreement reached
Jan. 14, the MWD board of directors
adopted wheeling rates and will file a
validation action in Los Angeles
Superior Court.
The Authority supports this action,
which will ask the court to decide
whether MWD’s wheeling rates conflict
with state law.
MWD will request that the court
delay action on its filing for 90 days.
The Authority has agreed to not file a
legal challenge to the rates for at least
90 days after adoption of the wheeling
rates.
Under the agreement with MWD, the
Authority then will have another 90 days
after expiration of the initial No-day peri-
od to contest the wheeling rates in court.
If the Authority and MWD do not
resolve their differences about the wheel-
ing rates by April 14, each agency will be
free to pursue other legal remedies.
Quotable
State Librarian and historian Kevin
Starr is the author of a multi-volume
history of California that, among many
other things, examines the struggle by
Californians to develop and maintain
adequate, dependable water supplies.
Starr was interviewed by Zhe San
Diego Union Tribune’s editorial board for
a “Q&A” that was published in the news-
paper’s Insight Section on Dec. 22, 1996.
The interview included the following
exchange:
Q. How significant is San Diego’s
attempt now to secure its own water
supply?
A. Another sign of civil maturity.
Every great city has to take care of water.
Bulk Rate
U.S. Postage
PAID
Permit No. 1
San Diego, CA