San Diego County has long been known as a place that solves hard problems with innovation – and our region’s approach to water is no exception.
While much of the West grapples with drought and water insecurity, our region spent decades preparing and investing for a dry future. That strategy is now paying off in new ways: In the past few weeks, the San Diego County Water Authority approved two landmark water‑transfer partnerships that not only help our neighbors but also deliver real financial benefits for local ratepayers.
These newly minted water transfer deals with Riverside County agencies aren’t flashy projects involving new pipelines or construction. They’re smart, strategic “paper transfers,” meaning water moves on the books through existing infrastructure. No new facilities or construction costs.
And importantly, no risk to the reliability of San Diego County’s own water supply.
Why Can San Diego Do This?
The short answer: Strategic planning created an opportunity to combine water security with revenue generation.
Since the 1990s, the San Diego region has invested heavily in conservation, water‑use efficiency, seawater desalination and long‑term supply partnerships in the Imperial Valley. Those investments reduced our region’s per‑person water use by half and diversified our water portfolio in ways few other regions can match.
As a result, we’re now in the unusual position of having enough water to meet forecasted regional water needs through 2050, even during multiple dry years – and enough to transfer to other agencies aiming to bolster their own water security.
Under these agreements, our partners receive water through existing delivery systems, as we increasingly rely on locally controlled supplies. The result is that our partners get the water they need, and we bring in revenue that benefits San Diego ratepayers.
Equally important, these transfers don’t require new infrastructure to physically move the water. Instead, they are “paper” transfers, meaning the other jurisdictions simply have access to the water we would otherwise use.
Over the next five years alone, these two partnerships are projected to generate nearly $175 million, with the total rising to $660 million over the 21-year span of the agreements. That translates to significant relief for the households and businesses that rely on us.
This Didn’t Happen Easily
It’s tempting to assume that if these agreements offer so many win-win benefits, they would have been done before. But that’s not how water has traditionally worked. Water transfers are complicated. The negotiations take time, trust, and careful navigation of legal, financial, and operational considerations.
Our ability to strike the first deals of this kind in Southern California is due to decades of foresight by Water Authority leaders – past and present – and a willingness to pursue innovative solutions even when the path isn’t straightforward.
These initial transfers are the beginning of a new chapter in water management. Communities throughout the arid Southwest are facing increasingly difficult water challenges that require flexible, cooperative agreements to overcome.
The threats created by climate change and shifting water dynamics are real, but so is San Diego County’s ability to meet the moment.
Mel Katz is a board member and past chair of the San Diego County Water Authority.
