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Water: Our Region in Crisis

On July 28, 2008, San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders declared a Stage 1 Water Emergency or, “Water Watch.”  What does this mean for businesses and consumers? A Stage 1 Water Emergency is intended to alert the public to the dire situation facing San Diego’s water supply, and urge consumers to voluntarily reduce their indoor and outdoor usage.

The San Diego region’s water crisis is no new news to most of us.  In August 2007, a federal judge ordered pumping restrictions that reduced water deliveries from the State Water Project, which accounts for 40% of all water used in San Diego County. These restrictions went into effect in late December 2007.  As of May 2008, the restrictions had severely cut State Water Project water deliveries and, on June 4, 2008, Governor Schwarzenegger declared California to be in a drought and asked the public to increase conservation efforts to preserve the state’s water supply. 

Last year, the San Diego County Water Authority initiated the “20 Gallon Challenge,” a campaign to increase voluntary water conservation by 20 gallons per person per day.

Unfortunately, after a review of water customers’ usage over the past several months, City officials have found that public conservation efforts have fallen short.  While the declaration of a Stage 1 Water Emergency will not place additional restrictions on City residents and is primarily meant to urge the public to increase conservation efforts, it is a step toward more extreme measures, such as a Stage II Water Emergency alert. 

A Stage II Water Emergency alert, which could be put in place next year, would mandate cutbacks of up to 20 percent.  To enforce this measure, the City would review historical water use, specifically for high-end consumers.  This would require the City to set up, for the first time, a penalty pricing system for water usage.  In order to set up a fair plan for businesses and consumers who have implemented conservation plans and installed water-saving devices, the City will review customer water bills three years past to determine conservation patterns.  The Mayor has invited the Chamber and industry partners to give input on a drought model ordinance.

The Chamber has been a long-time supporter of Poseidon Resources’ Carlsbad Desalination Project, which would remove excess salt and other minerals from seawater, turn it into potable water and provide a reliable, drought-proof water supply for the region.  The issue will be heard again by the California Coastal Commission on Wednesday, August 9, 2008, at 9 a.m. in the Oceanside City Council Chambers.

In November 2007, the Coastal Commission approved the Project’s Coastal Development Permit and attached two conditions to the permit with Poseidon’s consent. Poseidon has fulfilled its obligation under the project’s permit conditions by submitting two action plans to the Commission – an Energy Minimization and Greenhouse Gas Reduction Plan, and a Marine Life Mitigation Plan. The Coastal Commission’s approval of the two plans will bring to a close the Commission’s two-year approval process, and move the desalination plant one step closer to its scheduled 2009 construction.

Public water agencies serving ratepayers living throughout the County have long-term agreements to receive water from the Carlsbad Desalination Project. The project will provide San Diego County with approximately 9% of its total water supply, enough drinking water for 300,000 San Diegans.

Last week, a group of several of the region’ mayors held a press conference to urge the California Coastal Commission to issue its final approval on Wednesday.  The Chamber and several Chamber committee members will be at the Wednesday hearing and testify in support.   Given the current water crisis, additional water sources like the desalination project would add important alternative technologies to our tool kit to bring additional water sources to our region.