Agency has water to spare, offers help to other regions struggling with the drought

The San Diego County Water Authority’s Board of Directors yesterday authorized staff to assess selling, leasing, or swapping its Semitropic water with agencies that need it.

Over the past three decades, SDCWA has invested in supply reliability including conserved water from the Imperial Valley, seawater desalination, and access to the Semitropic Original Water Bank in Kern County, where the Water Authority has stored about 16,000 acre-feet of water.

SDCWA says those investments along with a continued emphasis on water-use efficiency means the San Diego region has sufficient water supplies for multiple dry years.

“Given the extraordinarily low 5% allocation on the State Water Project and the location of our groundwater in the Central Valley, it’s a perfect time to explore mutually beneficial agreements with agencies that need more water this year,” said Water Authority Board Chair Gary Croucher in a statement. “The Water Authority is committed to innovative ideas like this to improve water management across the arid West and at the same time benefit San Diego County ratepayers.”

The water bank in Kern County is located near the California Aqueduct, which carries supplies from the Colorado River.

Any agreement recommended by staff would be brought to the Board for approval.