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Two North County water districts have sued the City of San Diego over its alleged lack of maintenance of Lake Hodges Dam. File photo
Two North County water districts have sued the City of San Diego over its alleged lack of maintenance of Lake Hodges Dam. File photo
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Local water agencies sue San Diego over Lake Hodges Dam upkeep

REGION — The Santa Fe Irrigation and San Dieguito Water districts announced in late July that they had filed a lawsuit against the city of San Diego over neglected maintenance on the Lake Hodges Dam and the subsequent loss of access to local water supply from the reservoir.

The lawsuit cites a breach of contract, alleging that a lack of proper maintenance on the dam resulted in an unsatisfactory safety rating from the California Department of Safety of Dams last spring. An unsatisfactory rating is the lowest safety level, which means the dam requires immediate attention.

Now over 100 years old, the Lake Hodges Dam was built in 1918 by the San Dieguito Mutual Water Company and the Santa Fe Railroad. The city of San Diego took over ownership of Lake Hodges in 1925.

The San Dieguito Irrigation District (now known as the San Dieguito Water District) was formed in 1922 to serve what is now the city of Encinitas. The Santa Fe Irrigation District followed in 1923 to now serve Solana Beach, Rancho Santa Fe and other northern county communities. 

A flume trestle was constructed to transport water from Lake Hodges to the San Dieguito Reservoir. Photo courtesy of UCSD
The Lake Hodges Dam was built in 1918 by the San Dieguito Mutual Water Company and Santa Fe Railroad. The city of San Diego took over ownership of Lake Hodges in 1925. Courtesy photo

In 2022, the state required immediate emergency repairs on the dam and ordered the lake’s water released and levels lowered until permanent repairs or a new dam was completed.

Over the last two years, the city has released an estimated 5.5 billion gallons of the districts’ water into the ocean, equating to a loss of $21 million or the equivalent of a two-year water supply for both districts. 

Lake Hodges has a capacity of 10 billion gallons. The Santa Fe Irrigation District receives approximately 30% of its annual water supply from Lake Hodges.

According to the Santa Fe Irrigation District, the agency has been forced to develop a new rate structure, with some customers experiencing up to a 40% rate increase on their bimonthly bills. 

The district also claimed the city violated the California Public Records Act.

“Litigation was not the path that our district wanted to take, but we were left with no choice by the city of San Diego,” said Michael Hogan, board president of the Santa Fe Irrigation District. “If they had been the responsible owner of the dam, lived up to their contractual obligations, and engaged in meaningful discussions with us over the years about maintenance or lack thereof, and their potential solutions, we would not be moving forward with this lawsuit.”

Hogan said the board has a “fiduciary responsibility” to mitigate the financial impacts caused by the city’s negligence to its customers.

“Infrastructure maintenance is a critical part of delivering water to our customers, and that has not been done, even though our district has been paying our share of maintenance costs,” Hogan said, adding that he hopes to continue discussions with the city despite the lawsuit to resolve the matter “positively for our ratepayers.”

According to Director of Communications Andrew Sharp, the city of San Diego has not been served the lawsuit as of Aug. 5.

“We’ve not been served yet, so we have no comment on this pending litigation,” Sharp said via email.

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