San Diego County’s water supplier announced it has more than enough water to meet the region’s needs through the summer and fall, despite the county receiving around half of normal rainfall this year.
The San Diego County Water Authority said there is “plenty of water” to meet demands for the foreseeable future, and it is trying to transfer some water supply to areas in the West with greater water scarcity.
Officials said selling or leasing water to other agencies will help offset the cost of the region’s longstanding water investments and address statewide affordability challenges.
By offering agencies a limited amount of highly reliable water, officials said, they can retain water security for the county and lessen rate increases.
“The San Diego region’s investments in water supply reliability have given us an unusual opportunity to both help ratepayers and support other regions that have fewer water supply options,” said Water Authority Manager Dan Denham. “We are talking with potential partners in Southern California and beyond.”
The California Department of Water Resources’ fourth snowpack survey of the year showed “plenty of water” in the Sierra to stretch through the summer and fall.
On Friday, the agency reported the statewide snowpack is 90% of average.
While the San Diego region typically gets a small fraction of its water from Northern California, the health of the snowpack is important for the statewide economy, officials said.
The Colorado River Basin — which supplies about two-thirds of San Diego County’s water — also showed a healthy snowpack, officials said.
However, over the past two decades, a series of mostly dry years has strained the Colorado River.
Most of the Water Authority’s water from the river is available through conservation agreements in the Imperial Valley.
County water officials said a series of water transfers in 2023 and 2024 that raised water levels in Lake Mead, a key reservoir in the Colorado River System, saved San Diego ratepayers nearly $40 million.
While another similar deal is possible, officials said they are negotiating with water-scarce areas about transferring drought-proof desalinated seawater over multiple years.
These deals could take months or years to finalize, a Water Authority spokesperson said.
“While we can’t discuss the details of negotiations, it’s fair to say there is significant interest in buying some of our drought-resilient water — and that’s welcome news for San Diego County ratepayers,” Denham said. “Our goals are to maintain our water reliability for generations to come while at the same time controlling costs.”
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