Basic HTML Version
50
Chapter 9: Reliability Through Diversification
as drought squeezed California. One dry year
turned into two, and two into four so that by
late 1990, San Diego County was in crisis. In
November of that year,
MWD instituted the first
stage of its shortage allocation plan – small-
scale reductions that would have amounted to
little more than an
annoyance.
But conditions
continued to dete-
riorate, and in
February 1991
MWD i
mposed a
20 percent cut to
the San Diego
region’s urban
water users and a
50 percent cut to
its agricultural
water users for an overall supply
reduction of 31 percent.
While such severe cuts presented a huge
challenge for the region, things soon became
worse when MWD announced plans to slash
urban water deliveries to San Diego County by
50 percent. That reduction would have hit the
region disproportionately hard, fundamentally
altering life for nearly 2.5 million residents.
The situation was even worse for the county’s
$1 billion agricultural sector. Farmers faced
reductions of 90 percent in water supplies – an
unthinkably low number that would have dev-
astated one of the region’s economic engines.
Headlines of the era tell the story: “Companies
cringe at 50 percent cut in water,” said one.
“50% Water-Delivery
Cut
Will
Be Blow to
San Diego,”
screamed another.
“Water Dependence
Bodes a Dry San
Diego Future,” pre-
dicted a third. Just as
MWD’s deeper cuts
were about to take
effect, it started rain-
ing. And raining. And
raining some more. It rained so much that
month that “Miracle March” entered the local
lexicon and MWD-enforced cutbacks were
held to “only” 31 percent. Even though the
worst threats didn’t
materialize, the supply allo-
cations continued for 16 months, dealing a
strong blow to San Diego County and its
economy.
Such painful restrictions in the water supply
chain galvanized the region’s business and
During the supply cutbacks in the early 1990s,
San Diego business leaders presented the
Water Authority Board with this poster of shortage-
related news headlines demanding the Water
Authority i
mprove water supply reliability
In 1991 farmers faced reductions of 90 percent in
water supplies