San Diego County residents’ support for funding seawater desalination or other investments to enhance the reliability of the region’s water supplies has increased compared to last year, a new public opinion poll commissioned by the San Diego County Water Authority has found.
The poll, which surveyed 816 adult San Diego County residents in July, found:
The San Diego County Water Authority’s Board of Directors on Thursday received updates about two potential capital projects to meet the region’s long-term need for water through 2035 – a seawater desalination plant at Camp Pendleton and a large-scale conveyance system to deliver water from the Colorado River. Both options – and several others – will be considered as the Water Authority crafts its long-range planning document, the 2013 Regional Water Facilities Optimization and Master Plan.
The San Diego County Water Authority this week completed a $139.9 million bond sale that will help reduce the cost of financing vital water supply reliability projects.
The sale, Senior Lien Water Revenue Refunding Bonds Series 2011A, refunded $150 million in long-term fixed-rate bonds from the agency’s 2002A series. High competition for the bonds led to securing a low, fixed rate of 3.22 percent, which will save the Water Authority $13.5 million on a present-value basis over the 15-year life of the bonds.
Residential and business water use in San Diego County fell 12.8 percent during the first year of regional water shortages and mandatory water use restrictions, according to a report provided today to the San Diego County Water Authority Board of Directors.
The San Diego County Water Authority Board of Directors today approved key terms for purchasing water from the nation's largest seawater desalination facility in Carlsbad.
Today's action enables Water Authority staff to begin negotiating specific elements for a water purchase agreement with Poseidon Resources, the private firm developing the Carlsbad Desalination Project. These elements include water purchase price, allocation of risk and options to eventually purchase the project's pipeline and the entire desalination plant.
The San Diego County Water Authority’s Board of Directors today elected new officers to lead the agency’s board of directors for the next two years.
The San Diego County Water Authority has signed a 20-year agreement with San Diego-based Borrego Solar Systems, Inc. to install and operate solar electric power systems at three major Water Authority facilities. Based on today’s energy costs, the Water Authority’s energy cost savings is estimated at nearly $1.7 million over the life of the contract.
Billions of dollars in public works projects will be infused into the San Diego regional economy over the next decade. Private businesses can learn about these opportunities as well as strategies for successfully bidding on this work during the 12th annual Paths to Partnerships regional forum, planned for Thursday, October 21, at the San Diego Convention Center. More than 600 participants are expected to attend this year’s forum.
The San Diego County Water Authority has earned a Gold Award for Exceptional Utility Performance from the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies for its strong record of effective management and significant contributions to the drinking water industry.
The Water Authority is one of only 13 public drinking water systems nationally to earn AMWA’s outstanding achievement award for utility management. The awards will be presented Tuesday, Oct. 26 at AMWA’s Annual Meeting in Henderson, Nev.
The San Diego County Water Authority has redeveloped its website, www.sdcwa.org to help the public find information faster and easier through improved site navigation, more comprehensive search functions, and enhanced content.
The new website also integrates with smart phone technology and social media applications, allowing visitors to easily view content on mobile devices and share information from the website on Facebook, Twitter, slideshare, and other popular networking platforms.