The Salton Sea as pictured from Obsidian Butte in the sea’s southeast section. In the distance is a geothermal plant.

The California Water Resources Control Board (the Board) has announced it will hold a public hearing during its regularly scheduled board session on Nov. 7 and Nov. 8.  During this meeting, the Board will consider action on a Draft Stipulated Order amending the 2002 Water Rights Order that approved the long-term transfer of water from the Imperial Irrigation District (IID) to the San Diego County Water Authority (Water Authority). The amended order, if approved, would further address the Salton Sea, establishing annual milestones the State must meet as part of its Salton Sea Management Program (SSMP) Phase One Ten-Year Plan. The two-day meeting will be held at Metropolitan Water District of Southern California’s Los Angeles headquarters.

The Board scheduling a vote on the Draft Stipulated Order

Read More

Participants in the San Diego County Water Authority’s Oct. 19, 2017, tour for Imperial Valley representatives pose for a group photograph atop the San Vicente Dam. Along with a tour of the dam raise project, attendees visited the Claude A. “Bud” Lewis Carlsbad Desalination Plant and the East County Advanced Water Purification Pilot Program facility.

The Water Authority thanks the 25 representatives from throughout the Imperial Valley who participated in a tour Thursday (Oct. 19) of Water Authority projects in the San Diego region. Representatives from the Imperial Irrigation District, Imperial County, the agricultural and business communities, cities and chambers all joined in the day-long tour. They were joined by Water Authority General Manager Maureen Stapleton and Assistant General Manager Dan Denham, along with Water Authority Board Chairman Mark Muir and Board Members Doug Wilson and Lois Fong-Sakai. Several Water Authority staff also took part in the

Read More

Pictured is MWD’s Colorado River Aqueduct through which conserved water from the Imperial Valley is delivered to the San Diego County Water Authority.

The California Supreme Court on Wednesday, Sept. 27, denied a petition by the San Diego County Water Authority to review an appellate court ruling in a case of statewide significance over rates set by the Los Angeles-based Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. It is also a matter with potential impacts to the Water Transfer Agreement and the Quantification Settlement Agreement as the rates in question pertain to the “wheeling” or conveyance of conserved transfer water from the Imperial Valley to San Diego.

After winning significant victories in the trial court and the appellate court, the Water Authority petitioned the state Supreme Court in July on one single question: whether MWD may add State Water Project supply costs to the price it charges to transport the Water Authority’s

Read More