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Chapter 9: Reliability Through Diversification
problematic. Forward-looking leaders in San
Diego County charted a new course to insulate
the region’s residents and its economy from the
whi
ms of
Mother Nature and the actions of
judges, regulators and politicians
in faraway places. Through
visionary planning and persistent
effort, those leaders fashioned a
more balanced water supply
portfolio. By 2011, the Water
Authority no longer relied on
MWD for the majority of its water. And when
the Carlsbad Desalination Project comes online
in 2016, the Water Authority will have the last
major piece it needs to hit its target of having
locally controlled supplies and water conserva-
tion meet 70 percent of the region’s water
needs by 2020.
This success has not gone unnoticed.
In May 2013, the San Diego County Grand
Jury issued a report that said the Water
Authority “has made substantial progress in
diversifying water supply
sources” that bolster the region’s
economy and quality of life. It
concluded that the Water
Authority should “continue to
pursue a vigorous policy to
lessen dependence on i
mported
water by continued conservation, reuse and
reclamation, additional emergency storage proj-
ects and new desalination projects.”
11
MetropolitanWater
District of Southern
California
30%
Local
Surface
Water
6%
San Diego CountyWater Authority
Water Supply Diversification 2020
Seawater
Desalination
7%
Groundwater
4%
Conservation
13%
Imperial Irrigation
District Water
Transfer
24%
Canal Lining
Transfer
10%
Recycled
Water
6%