As desert cities like Phoenix and Tucson face dramatic reductions in their Colorado River water allocations, San Diego County’s water utility could for the first time sell its water to other states by drawing more services from the nation’s largest desalination plant.
The board of the San Diego County Water Authority unanimously approved the first agreement last week to consider selling some of its water to Arizona and Nevada, where cities that depend on the over-watered Colorado River are expected to suffer. big cuts in the water.
General Manager Dan Denham said the agreement, if approved by other agencies, could pave the way for the transfer of Colorado River water for the first time starting next year.
“It’s a different way of managing water in the West,” Denham said. “I think it has to happen now, and it has to happen because of the situation on the river.”
The Colorado River supplies water to farms, cities and tribal communities in seven states and northern Mexico. Its reservoirs have declined significantly over the past 25 years due to drought combined with climate change the flow of the river has decreased.
Negotiators with seven states, despite extensive negotiations, you are always at odds when water is cut each person must accept it to prevent the dams from shrinking.
San Diego County Water Authority officials plan to consider selling water across state lines by allowing agencies in Arizona and Nevada to buy some of their Colorado River supplies. The proceeds, the San Diego County agency says, will be used to lower costs for its ratepayers.
Agreement — technically a memorandum of understanding – first it will need to be approved by the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, the federal government and agencies in Arizona and Nevada. Then, the various water bodies will have to negotiate the details.
The San Diego County Water Authority acts as a wholesaler, delivering water to 22 cities and other agencies that serve 3.3 million people.
The authority is in a position to sell part of the water in this region because it has invested a lot in getting more water from the Claude “Bud” Lewis Carlsbad Desalination Plant, which since 2015 has been drawing water from the sea and releasing part of the drinking water in the area. Authorities received more water in 2003 agreement to transfer agriculture to cities. This and other investments have brought San Diego County a lot of water – though as a result, the county has more water is very expensive in the province.
The Water Authority purchases water from the Carlsbad desalination plant under a 30 year agreement. But the plant is currently operating below full capacity, Denham said, and its output could be increased to provide more of the region’s water if agencies in other states buy water from the Water Authority’s Colorado River. In fact, it is more expensive to use the facility fully at this time given the availability of other resources to save, but the money outside the region can make the agency’s time worth it.
Conservation efforts have also reduced the water needs of many cities served by the Water Authority. And in the next few years, the facility will begin recycling wastewater in new locations, including San Diego Clean Water project and other recycling projects in Oceanside and eastern San Diego County.
If other states and agencies sign on, Denham said the Water Authority is willing to sell up to 10,000 hectares of water starting next year. That’s about 5% of the Las Vegas area current water use.
In future years, he said, that could increase to 25,000 acres or more. And with more investment in development, the Carlsbad desalination plant could be expanded to turn more seawater into drinking water, thereby freeing up more water to sell to cities that need it.
“It’s in everyone’s best interest to make this work,” Denham said.
Gov. Gavin Newsom supported the idea, telling the governors of six other states recently a book that California would welcome joint investments in water recycling and desalination.
Denham said Scott Cameron, the Trump administration’s acting head of the US Bureau of Reclamation, also supported the idea.
The Metropolitan Water District board has not yet voted on the proposed agreement.
“I believe that these kinds of concepts are what we need to do in terms of thinking about water resources, not in terms of political boundaries, but as a region,” said Shivaji Deshmukh, the region’s general manager.
If the San Diego County Water Authority finally reaches agreements with other agencies, the amount of water sold will be small compared to the water deficit gap that is lowering reservoir levels on the Colorado River. But Denham said if it works, the approach could be the first step in showing that interstate agreements can help alleviate water shortages.
