Once parched, San Diego now offers water lifeline to Arizona and Nevada
San Diego: After years of drought pushed it to the brink, San Diego County is now using the water security it built to help neighbors facing their own shortages.
Arizona and Nevada are pursuing agreements with the San Diego County Water Authority to use part of San Diego’s share of the Colorado River. In exchange, the two states would cover the quarterly costs of running San Diego’s Carlsbad Desalination Plant.
The Carlsbad facility is the largest seawater desalination plant in North America. It supplies 54 million gallons of drinking water to the city and county every day.
The plant was built after a punishing 5-year drought that ended in 1992. By then, San Diego County had lost one-third of its water resources. Imports, both tanked and bottled, had to be brought in to make up the difference.
Following that crisis, the SDCWA invested in multiple safeguards. Along with building the desalination plant, the agency raised the height of a major dam to store more water and acquired rights to a large Colorado River allocation once set aside for a farming district.
Those moves cut the county’s reliance on imported water from 95% to just 10%. Now, that buffer is becoming a regional asset. By relinquishing part of its Colorado River share, San Diego could help secure clean water for up to 500,000 people in Nevada and Arizona during drought.
