After weighing a number of options designed to ensure the successful construction of the nation’s largest seawater desalination plant, the San Diego County Water Authority Board of Directors today directed the agency’s staff to return to its July 22 meeting with draft terms and conditions for purchasing water directly from the Carlsbad Desalination Project, currently being developed by Poseidon Resources.
Category Archives: News Release
Water Authority Completes San Vicente Pipeline Tunnel
The San Vicente Pipeline Tunnel, a key component of the San Diego County Water Authority’s $1.5 billion Emergency Storage Project, is now complete. The 11-mile-long, 8.5-foot-diameter pipeline stretches from Lakeside to Mira Mesa and connects the San Vicente Reservoir to the Water Authority’s Second Aqueduct.
Water Authority Defers 11 Projects to Help Manage Rates
In response to reduced short-term water demand projections and changing economic circumstances, the San Diego County Water Authority Board of Directors today approved deferring the construction of 11 infrastructure projects to July 2014 or later. This action postpones $82 million in costs and will help moderate Water Authority rate increases in 2012 and 2013.
The board also directed staff to evaluate three other projects, totaling $68 million, for potential deferral. Staff will return to the board in February with a recommendation.
‘When in Drought’ Campaign Asks Region to Conserve Water Every Day, Every Way
Supported by civic and business leaders, the San Diego County Water Authority on Tuesday unveiled a new regional campaign to encourage additional voluntary water conservation in response to statewide drought conditions.
The campaign’s theme – When in Drought: Save every day, every way. – will appear in ads, public service announcements, online communications and elsewhere in coming months.
Colorado River municipal water utilities respond to first interim report of Colorado River Basin Water Supply and Demand Study
The Colorado River Municipal Utilities, consisting of Aurora Water, the Central Arizona Project, Denver Water, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, the city of Phoenix, the San Diego County Water Authority, the Southern Nevada Water Authority and the Western Urban Water Coalition, jointly have issued the following statement in response to the release of Colorado River Basin Water Supply and Demand Study Interim Report No. 1 by the Bureau of Reclamation and agencies representing the Basin states:
Metropolitan Water District Cancels Funding for Local Water Supply Projects in Retaliation for Lawsuit Challenging its Rates
San Diego ratepayers will pay nearly $23 million to the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD) this year to help fund local conservation and water supply development projects like seawater desalination, groundwater and recycled water – more money than any other water district in Southern California.
Water Authority Receives GFOA 2010 Excellence in Financial Reporting Award
The San Diego County Water Authority has received the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting from the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada (GFOA) for its Fiscal Year 2010 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR). This is the 11th consecutive year that the Water Authority has received the certificate, which is considered the highest form of recognition in governmental accounting and financial reporting.
Water Authority Approves $1.42 Billion Budget for Fiscal Years 2012 and 2013
The San Diego County Water Authority Board of Directors today approved a $1.42 billion budget to fund water purchases, capital expenditures, debt service and operating expenses from July 1, 2011 through June 30, 2013.
Water Authority Executes $86.63 Million Subordinate Lien Bond Sale
The San Diego County Water Authority today successfully completed bond sales of $86.63 million as part of its strategy to diversify its debt portfolio and reduce the rate volatility and cost of financing vital water supply reliability projects.
The sale, Subordinate Lien Water Revenue Refunding Bonds Series 2011S-1, refinanced $100 million of outstanding variable rate debt with five-year, fixed-rate bonds. The bonds locked in an interest rate of 1.48 percent.
Projections Show San Diego Region’s Water Supplies Are Sufficient for 2014
Healthy reservoir storage levels, strong regional water conservation efforts and growing water transfers from the Colorado River mean San Diego County will have sufficient water supplies for 2014 even if dry conditions persist. That assessment was presented Thursday by the San Diego County Water Authority staff to the Board of Directors.
The past two years have been dry across California, and 11 of the past 14 years have been dry in the Colorado River Basin. Locally, precipitation at Lindbergh Field was 63 percent of normal between Oct. 1, 2012, and Sept. 30, 2013.