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Chapter 9: Reliability Through Diversification
called for conveying up to 200,000 acre-feet
of conserved Colorado River water annually to
San Diego County for up to 75 years, if both
parties agree to extend the arrangement after
the first 45 years. The water is delivered to
the San Diego region through MWD’s
Colorado River
Aqueduct. In addi-
tion to the transfer,
the QSA provides
for lining portions of
the All-American
and Coachella
canals that traverse
I
mperial and
Riverside counties,
then transferring the
water conserved by
the projects to San
Diego County.
Beginning in 2003, QSA-related supplies
began flowing into the San Diego region.
They quickly provided a major reliability benefit,
and transfers are scheduled to grow so that
by 2020 they will
meet one-third of the
region’s water demand. Over 110 years, the
QSA could provide the Water Authority with
21 million acre-feet of
water – a huge victory
for regional
water-supply reliability.
EMBRACING CONSERVATI
ON
As the Water Authority helped craft the QSA,
it also expanded its conservation initiative – a
critical element of the diversification strategy
that relied both on county residents and state
lawmakers. Conservation got a jump-start
from the 1987-92
drought, when emer-
gency conditions
quickly drove down
water consumption.
Nonetheless, regional
leaders realized that it
would take a compre-
hensive and coordinat-
ed approach to make
water-use efficiency a
way of life. The Water
Authority’s long-term
strategy included finan-
cial incentives, education campaigns and new
state legislation ai
med and driving down per-
capita water use.
In the early 1990s, the Water Authority helped
launch the California Urban Water Conser-
vation Council, which sets standards for con-
servation programs and helps spread best
management practices statewide. Water
agencies provided customers with free on-site
Mediterranean landscapes are beautiful and
water-efficient
The All-American Canal Lining Project