A bitter 15-year legal battle over water costs came to an end
Monday, with leaders of the San Diego County Water Authority
and the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California
signing an agreement establishing the price that will be paid
for delivering supplies. Managers and board members of the two
agencies said that the dispute persisted for years because of
inflexible positions, but that negotiations over the last year
made possible a comprehensive agreement. They said ending the
legal fight will enable greater collaboration among the
agencies to improve their finances and move water where it’s
needed. MWD Board Chair Adán Ortega Jr. said the litigation had
for too long complicated the relationship between his agency,
which delivers water for 19 million people, and the San Diego
County Water Authority, which is a member of MWD and supplies
water for 3.3 million people.
The San Diego County Water Authority and Metropolitan Water
District are set to announce a historic settlement of decades
of legal disputes following the 2003 deal to purchase water
from Imperial Valley farmers. The disputes are insanely
complex and they have cost San Diego ratepayers an estimated
$20 million in legal fees. … The Water Authority agreed to
purchase water for several decades from IID. It also invested
heavily in lining the canals that bring water from the
Colorado River, saving significant amounts of
water that had been lost to seepage. … The settlement
will set a framework for the Water Authority to sell water to
other Southern California water agencies or to Metropolitan
itself. And Metropolitan has agreed to even allow the Water
Authority to sell water out of state, if it’s not needed here.
Imperial Beach Mayor Paloma Aguirre once served as an
environmental fellow in Sen. Cory Booker’s Washington office.
She leveraged that contact Thursday, as the New Jersey Democrat
and former presidential candidate visited her city to see the
Tijuana River sewage pollution crisis up close and demand more
federal action to address the issue. Booker called the
situation “an environmental justice crisis” and said he will
take “what I saw here back to Washington to help make sure this
community’s fight for clean air and water is heard and
answered.” … Booker’s visit comes the day after a UC San
Diego report found dangerous chemical compounds are present not
only in the water of the Tijuana River and off the coast of
Imperial Beach, but are also aerosolized by ocean spray and
make it into the air.
The overarching water myth in our part of our state is one of
massive entities — MWD, LADWP — controlled by criminally
wealthy Kings of California with unholy power straight out of a
film noir plot. Ordinary people who dare question the way that
water works need to be told, once again, “Forget it, Jake. It’s
Chinatown,” and move on to fairer fights with organizations
that aren’t so rich and gigantic that they are unassailable.
When you live in Altadena, the water with which you irrigate
your yard and brush your teeth does not come from anyone living
very large. It comes from one of three tiny,
ancient-for-California water companies that have so few
resources that when disaster strikes, there is no bucks-up
bureaucracy to bankroll a big fix. –Written by Whittier Daily News opinion columnist Larry
Wilson.
Seven months before fire swept through the Pacific Palisades
neighborhood of Los Angeles, the city’s water managers were
formulating a plan to revive an old reservoir to temporarily
boost the area’s limited water capacity. The Los Angeles
Department of Water and Power was exploring the option because
the neighborhood’s main reservoir — the Santa Ynez Reservoir —
had been taken offline as a result of a torn cover, which
officials had begun preparations to repair early in 2024. The
repair project was still months away from completion this
January when the fire broke out, and with the reservoir empty,
firefighters ran short of water in fighting the blaze. Emails
released to The New York Times under public records law show
that the city had searched for solutions to rectify the
monthslong supply shortage but, despite lengthy discussions and
preliminary preparations, failed to correct the problem in
time.
Last week, I sat down with Environmental Protection Agency
Administrator Lee Zeldin for a roundtable focused on a crisis
that’s poisoned our coastlines for decades: the relentless
dumping of toxic sewage from Mexico into Southern California’s
waters. This wasn’t another meeting about more studies, more
delays, or more bureaucratic finger-pointing. It was about one
thing: action. I told Administrator Zeldin what so many San
Diegans already know: this isn’t just an environmental disaster
— it’s a national security threat. When our Navy SEALs — the
elite warriors of our military — are forced to abandon training
operations due to contaminated waters, we have crossed a line.
When our families can’t enjoy our beaches without the risk of
serious illness, something is fundamentally broken. The good
news? Your voices are being heard. –Written by Jim Desmond, member of the San Diego County
Board of Supervisors.
Carlsbad residents pay less for water than other cities around
the county, but rates are about to jump. A 20 percent increase
in July will add $25.30 to the average customer bill, with more
to come. The Carlsbad City Council voted 4-1 last week to raise
rates for water, sewer and recycled water that will bring
additional increases in Jan. 2026 and 2027, for a total of
$61.75, or 49% over the current rate. City staff explained that
the San Diego County Water Authority raised wholesale rates by
14% last July. “That means it costs us 14% more to purchase
water for Carlsbad customers,” said Shoshana Aguilar, senior
management analyst with the city’s utilities department. Sixty
five percent of the cost of water bills involves county water
purchases from sources such as the Colorado River and
desalination. The rate hikes fund the many costs of water
delivery and can’t exceed the cost of service.
Burbank residents face significant water rate increases as the
city grapples with its complete dependence on imported water
and rising costs from external suppliers. Burbank Water and
Power recently proposed water rate increases of 14% beginning
Jan. 1, 2026, and an additional 14% beginning Jan. 1, 2027.
… The utility expects to pay up to 21% more for imported
water in 2026 compared to 2024. Burbank relies on
groundwater storage since it lacks direct access to natural
water sources. However, BWP must first purchase and spread
imported water before extracting it from the groundwater basin.
To maximize its limited supply, the utility produces
approximately 4 million gallons of recycled water daily for
non-potable purposes, such as irrigating school fields and
parks and operating the Magnolia Power Plant.
A new aquatic invader, the golden mussel, has penetrated California’s ecologically fragile Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, the West Coast’s largest tidal estuary and the hub of the state’s vast water export system. While state officials say they’re working to keep this latest invasive species in check, they concede it may be a nearly impossible task: The golden mussel is in the Golden State to stay – and it is likely to spread.
State water management officials must work more closely with
local agencies to properly prepare California for the effects
of climate change, water scientists say. Golden State
officials said in the newly revised California Water
Plan that as the nation’s most populous state, California
is too diverse and complex for a singular approach to manage a
vast water network. On Monday, they recommended expanding the
work to better manage the state’s precious water resources —
including building better partnerships with communities most at
risk during extreme drought and floods and improving critical
infrastructure for water storage, treatment and distribution
among different regions and watersheds.
It’s the most frustrating part of conservation. To save water,
you rip out your lawn, shorten your shower time, collect
rainwater for the flowers and stop washing the car. Your water
use plummets. And for all that trouble, your water supplier
raises your rates. Why? Because everyone is using so much less
that the agency is losing money. That’s the dynamic in
play with Southern California’s massive wholesaler, the
Metropolitan Water District, despite full reservoirs after two
of history’s wettest winters. … Should water users be
happy about these increases? The answer is a counterintuitive
“yes.” Costs would be higher and water scarcer in the future
without modest hikes now.
Today, Congresswoman Norma Torres and Congressman David Valadao
– members of the House Appropriations Committee – announced the
introduction of the bipartisan Removing Nitrate and Arsenic in
Drinking Water Act. This bill would amend the Safe Drinking
Water Act to provide grants for nitrate and arsenic reduction,
by providing $15 million for FY25 and every fiscal year
thereafter. The bill also directs the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) to take into consideration the needs of
economically disadvantaged populations impacted by drinking
water contamination. The California State Water Resources
Control Board found the Inland Empire to have the highest
levels of contamination of nitrate throughout the state
including 82 sources in San Bernardino, 67 sources in Riverside
County, and 123 sources in Los Angeles County.
This tour explored the lower Colorado River firsthand where virtually every drop of the river is allocated, yet demand is growing from myriad sources — increasing population, declining habitat, drought and climate change.
The 1,450-mile river is a lifeline to some 40 million people in the Southwest across seven states, 30 tribal nations and Mexico. How the Lower Basin states – Arizona, California and Nevada – use and manage this water to meet agricultural, urban, environmental and industrial needs was the focus of this tour.
Hilton Garden Inn Las Vegas Strip South
7830 S Las Vegas Blvd
Las Vegas, NV 89123
Learn the history and challenges facing the West’s most dramatic
and developed river.
The Layperson’s Guide to the Colorado River Basin introduces the
1,450-mile river that sustains 40 million people and millions of
acres of farmland spanning seven states and parts of northern
Mexico.
The 28-page primer explains how the river’s water is shared and
managed as the Southwest transitions to a hotter and drier
climate.
The Topock Marsh has seen a significant drop in water levels
recently, with dry patches visible and locals concerned about
the effects on wildlife. The 4,000-acre Bureau of Reclamation
marsh is adjacent to the Colorado River in the Havasu National
Wildlife Refuge. Managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
it serves as a recreation area and wildlife habitat for the
Tri-state.
This tour explored the lower Colorado River firsthand where virtually every drop of the river is allocated, yet demand is growing from myriad sources — increasing population, declining habitat, drought and climate change.
The 1,450-mile river is a lifeline to some 40 million people in the Southwest across seven states, 30 tribal nations and Mexico. How the Lower Basin states – Arizona, California and Nevada – use and manage this water to meet agricultural, urban, environmental and industrial needs was the focus of this tour.
Hilton Garden Inn Las Vegas Strip South
7830 S Las Vegas Blvd
Las Vegas, NV 89123
This special Foundation water tour journeyed along the Eastern Sierra from the Truckee River to Mono Lake, through the Owens Valley and into the Mojave Desert to explore a major source of water for Southern California, this year’s snowpack and challenges for towns, farms and the environment.
Managers of California’s most
overdrawn aquifers were given a monumental task under the state’s
landmark Sustainable Groundwater Management Act: Craft viable,
detailed plans on a 20-year timeline to bring their beleaguered
basins into balance. It was a task that required more than 250
newly formed local groundwater agencies – many of them in the
drought-stressed San Joaquin Valley – to set up shop, gather
data, hear from the public and collaborate with neighbors on
multiple complex plans, often covering just portions of a
groundwater basin.
Martha Guzman recalls those awful
days working on water and other issues as a deputy legislative
secretary for then-Gov. Jerry Brown. California was mired in a
recession and the state’s finances were deep in the red. Parks
were cut, schools were cut, programs were cut to try to balance a
troubled state budget in what she remembers as “that terrible
time.”
She now finds herself in a strikingly different position: As
administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s
Region 9, she has a mandate to address water challenges across
California, Nevada, Arizona and Hawaii and $1 billion to help pay
for it. It is the kind of funding, she said, that is usually
spread out over a decade. Guzman called it the “absolutely
greatest opportunity.”
This tour explored the lower Colorado River firsthand where virtually every drop of the river is allocated, yet demand is growing from myriad sources — increasing population, declining habitat, drought and climate change.
The 1,450-mile river is a lifeline to some 40 million people in the Southwest across seven states, 30 tribal nations and Mexico. How the Lower Basin states – Arizona, California and Nevada – use and manage this water to meet agricultural, urban, environmental and industrial needs was the focus of this tour.
Hyatt Place Las Vegas At Silverton Village
8380 Dean Martin Drive
Las Vegas, NV 89139
