How San Diego secured its water supply, at a cost

An official at the Carlsbad Desalination plant fills a cup with filtered water made from ocean water, Thursday, May 26, 2022, in Carlsbad, Calif.The facility is the Western hemisphere's largest desalination plant, which removes salt and impurities from ocean water. As a worsening drought forces millions of Californians to face mandatory water restrictions, one corner of Southern California has largely shielded itself from supply-related woes: San Diego County.

“San Diego's situation is very surprising, very striking,” said Michael Hanemann, an environmental economist at Arizona State University who recently was commissioned to study the region's water costs for a California agency. “I think this is a harbinger of something that’s going to happen elsewhere in California and elsewhere in the U.S.”San Diegans didn't always rest easy during drought. In the 1990s, a severe dry period cut the region's water supply by 30%.

In 2012, San Diego County forged a deal to get 10% of its water supply from the Carlsbad Desalination Plant for the next 30 years. The plant produces 50 million gallons of drinkable water — enough for about 400,000 people — every day and is by far the region's most expensive water source. Thanks to selling less water, San Diego County has raised rates — by an average of 4% for each of the past five years — to cover fixed costs including the San Vicente Dam and desalination plant. Such costs make up the lion's share — roughly 90% — of the agency's annual expenses.

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