Region's wholesaler spent billions to ensure residents and businesses don't run out of water. So far, it's worked. But the bill is now coming due.
San Diegans arguably have more water than they know what to do with. So much, in fact, officials have been exploring a deal with the federal government to store excess supplies in imperiled Lake Mead.
“Wouldn’t it be nice to have that storage now, where we could be helping others?” Jim Madaffer, a longtime water insider who sits on the board of the wholesaler San Diego County Water Authority, asked me rhetorically this past week.on the Colorado River on Tuesday, when the Federal Bureau of Reclamation issued its dire forecast for the nation’s largest reservoir. Arizona, Nevada and Mexico were not so lucky.
While Northern California and much of the Southwest grapple with dry, rapidly warming temperatures, San Diegans have heard relatively little from local leaders this summer about turning off sprinklers, taking shorter showers or ripping out lawns.comes with a hefty price tag. Water bills across the county have been soaring, and it’s only projected to get worse.
Water authority officials have painted a rosy picture of the situation. They point out that San Diego has positioned itself remarkably well with its deal for river water, securing some of the“The investments we’ve made over the last 20 years truly are paying off,” said Madaffer, who represents the city of San Diego on the wholesaler’s 36-member board, which includes representatives from its 24 water agency customers. “San Diego’s a lesson for the rest of the state in what to do right.
Agricultural water supplies have been less enamored with the water authority’s strategy. In fact, water agencies in Fallbrook and Rainbow are in