San Diego is at the end of the pipeline to import water from the Colorado River and the Sacramento Bay Delta. Not surprisingly, its costs exceeded those of Los Angeles and other parts of southern California.
However, a recent report by a leading expert concludes that there is more to soaring water prices in the San Diego region, as over the past decade wholesale rates have increasingly surpassed its northern neighbors.
Falling demand coupled with a plethora of costly projects – from construction of dams to the Carlsbad desalination plant – has created the perfect storm that has caused water levels to skyrocket over the past decade, according to a recent study by longtime environmental economist Michael Hanemann of Arizona State University .
Hanemann doesn’t blame the San Diego County Water Authority for his investments. He said the strategy of a wholesaler, which serves 24 retail agencies, would look more prudent today had demand not fallen unexpectedly 40 percent from 2010.
Over the past decade, numerous droughts in California have triggered mandatory maintenance coupled with a widely successful turf rebate program. State-wide demand has dropped drastically. Most agencies did not anticipate this.
As a result of selling less water, the Water Authority had to raise rates to cover its annual expenses – nearly 90 percent of them are overhead expenses, including $ 21 billion in debt, according to the report.
“This infrastructure will be used,” said Hanemann. “It may not be used as often as expected in this decade, but in three decades it will be used. Timing is the problem. “
The Water Authority – which declined to conduct an interview for the story – argued that its investments were wise and ensured that the region would not face devastating shortages during the drought.
$400 a month for a lawn
Critics have argued that the agency, to its own detriment, has ignored the plight of farmers and cash-deprived residents who are often more cost-sensitive than mandatory cuts. Now, high prices in the region are likely to lead to increased protection, and vice versa.
“Everyone missed that price is driving demand,” said Jack Bebee, general manager of Fallbrook Public Utility District. “Finally, there’s a point where people say,” $ 400 a month for a lawn isn’t worth it. ” It is still being overlooked. “
The Water Authority has repeatedly overestimated demand since 1995 – initially predicting the entire region’s water consumption to be 970,000 acres by 2020. The region now uses about half of that, around 450,000 acres, compared with around 700,000 acres in 2007.
Those skeptical of the Water Authority have questioned whether the agency rebuilt its system in a somewhat erroneous effort to isolate itself from the Los Angeles-based Metropolitan Water District in Southern California.
The Metropolitan provided 95 percent of San Diego’s water before drought-related restrictions appeared in the early 1990s. Today, that figure has dropped to 11 percent, thanks to San Diego’s investment in desalination, recycling, and most importantly, the Colorado River Water Agreement with the Imperial Irrigation District.
Hanemann said rate-payers could benefit from greater collaboration between the two agencies. “The bad blood that existed between the Water Authority and the Metropolitan was really bad for the region.”
This highlighted the widening gap between the Water Authority’s and Metropolitan’s untreated water bills: currently $ 1,474 per acre foot versus $ 1,075, according to the report. (An acre foot is enough water to cover an acre of depth for a foot or 325,851 gallons.)
Part of the difference, according to the report, is due to San Diego’s particularly aggressive protection. Metropolitan saw demand fall by just 20 percent from 2010, half of the decline recorded by the Water Authority.
The flip side of the equation is the Water Authority’s recent list of capital projects, such as an approximately 16-year, $ 1.5 billion-dollar effort to expand emergency storage facilities, including the raising of the San Vicente Dam. The ambitious project completed in 2014 almost doubled the capacity of the main reservoir in the region.
Reverse osmosis membranes are being installed at the Poseidon desalination plant in Carlsbad, which is nearing completion in 2015.
(Misael Virgen / San Diego Union-Tribune / Zuma Pre)
The reliability-focused wholesaler also signed an agreement with Carlsbad-based Poseidon Water to build a $ 1 billion desalination plant in his hometown. The Water Authority has signed a 30-year contract to pay for continuous supplies whether it needs them or not.
The cost of this desalinated water is as much as $ 2,725 an acre foot. The report found that last year the region could have saved about $ 215 per acre in its wholesale costs for untreated water had it not been required to purchase desalinated water.
“Desal is a waste,” said Matt O’Malley, executive director and attorney of the San Diego Coastkeeper, who opposed the project from the outset.
He and other environmental advocates more than a decade ago called on the city of San Diego to recycle wastewater instead of desalination. Instead, city officials shelved what was then called “tap toilet,” paving the way for the Poseidon deal.
In recent years, the city of San Diego has revived its wastewater recycling plan called Pure Water. However, with existing investments, such as desalination, far from being profitable, many fear that the above strategy will cause further financial difficulties for payers.
The report concluded that the desalination plant gave the Water Authority greater opportunity to negotiate with state authorities about mandatory water cuts during the recent drought. While rural agricultural districts were dissatisfied with this compromise, supporters say increased reliability will be crucial as climate change increasingly affects the snowfall in the mountains.
“I think if the state were smart, it would probably build five to ten desalination plants across the state,” said Jim Madaffer, a former San Diego city councilor who serves on the Board of the Water Authority. “That would probably solve a lot of problems.”
The manager walks through the membrane filtration columns at the San Diego Clean Water Demonstration Plant.
(KC Alfred / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Tom Kennedy, CEO of Rainbow’s strongly agricultural water district, could not disagree. He said the Water Authority should have dropped the project, recognizing emerging trends in long-term conservation and declining sales.
“Demand was going down, but everyone was saying,” Oh, this is a big recession, “he said. “They never take it as systemic. “Now the turning point of reliability at all costs is just ahead of us.”
This is especially true of the agricultural sector, which purchased some 98,000 acres of resources from the Water Authority in 2007. Farmers need water today to amount to around 28,000 acres per year.
Tap water messaging
The agency still hopes that demand will eventually pick up as the population grows. The impact of rising rates is also increasingly recognized given the uncertain economic conditions plaguing many parts of the region. Recently, she established a Working Group on Financial Strategy. On Thursday, employees gave a presentation to the agency’s board members.
His approach focused on ways to publicly portray the relative affordability of tap water, comparing it to everything from gasoline to milk. Several board members objected to the proposed information campaign, saying the agency should focus more on figuring out how to help struggling residents.
“While the cost of water may seem low compared to other areas, people living on the margins … may prioritize medical help, food, just a roof over their heads,” said San Diego City Representative Ismahan Abdullahi. in the Water Management Board.
Kennedy reiterated this belief: “From the financial strategy, it should be,” What can we do to make water more affordable? “. Hopefully as this process progresses, we will be able to spend a little more time looking inward. “
While San Diego’s water costs are only expected to rise, Los Angeles rates may eventually catch up, Hanemann said. This is because Metropolitan has ambitious plans of its own to invest in new wastewater recycling and will eventually need to help finance the long-term overhaul of the Gulf Delta transportation system, which is prone to earthquakes and rising sea levels.
Hanemann said the challenge for water officials is to balance future demand with the need for costly new projects that may take decades to materialize.
“This is the brutal economic fact of the water supply: it is not agile,” he said.
Where is desalination used the most and why?
The most important recipients of desalinated water are in the Middle East (mainly Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Bahrain), which uses approximately 70% of the world’s capacity; and in North Africa (mainly Libya and Algeria), which use approx. 6% of the world’s capacity.
Where are desalination plants used? Desalination plants operate in over 120 countries around the world, including Saudi Arabia, Oman, United Arab Emirates, Spain, Cyprus, Malta, Gibraltar, Cape Verde, Portugal, Greece, Italy, India, China, Japan and Australia.
What country uses desalination the most?
Saudi Arabia is the country that relies the most on desalination – mostly seawater. The United States is in second place. It mainly uses brackish water and sewage, although it will open one of the world’s largest seawater desalination plants in Carlsbad, San Diego later this year.
Why does Australia use desalination?
Since the first Perth desalination plant was completed in 2006, Australian capitals have adopted massive “water factories” for desalination of seawater as a way to increase water safety. To date, Perth and Adelaide have relied heavily on desalination. Canberra, Hobart and Darwin are the only capitals without desalination.
Why would a country need desalination?
Today, desalination plants are used to convert seawater into drinking water on ships and in many arid regions of the world, and to treat water in other areas that is polluted by natural and unnatural pollutants.
Why do we need desalination in Australia?
Desalination technology is the process of removing salt and other minerals from seawater to produce freshwater. Technology becomes important to Australia as rainfall water supply is declining due to climate change.
Why is desalination used in the Middle East?
Oman relies on desalination as the extreme scarcity of water leaves few other options. … According to experts, the Middle East accounts for more than 60% of the world’s desalination capacity. Other water-poor countries, such as Morocco and Australia, have also started using the oceans.
Why is desalination used in some countries? As climate change makes rainfall less predictable and droughts more frequent, more and more countries are switching to desalination. The term refers to the removal of salt from both seawater and groundwater “brackish” water, and to the treatment of sewage (known as sewers) to make it drinkable.
Why does Saudi Arabia use desalination?
To overcome the scarcity of water, significant investments have been made in seawater desalination, water distribution, sewage and wastewater treatment.
How much does Saudi Arabia spend on desalination?
The construction of the desalination and power plant at Ras Al Khair on the east coast of Saudi Arabia cost more than $ 7 billion. The government, which was hoping to speed up asset sales this year, blamed the disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
Why is there a desalination plant in Saudi Arabia?
Floating desalination. Desalination barges have been operating since 2008 to meet the high seasonal drinking water demand along the Red Sea coast in the kingdom. In 2010, the largest floating desalination plant in the world with a production capacity of 25,000 m3 / day (9 million m3 / year) was put into operation on the barge in Yanbu.
What are the benefits of desalination as a resolution to water crisis in the Middle East?
Advantages of desalination plants By removing dissolved salts and other minerals from seawater, desalination plants turn salt water into fresh drinking water. Saudi Arabia obtains 70 percent of its fresh water in the process, which means it is very beneficial for desert and drought-affected countries.
How can desalination solve the water crisis?
Desalination is a particularly preferred alternative freshwater source due to its reliability. It can provide a low-risk water supply that is not susceptible to natural disasters, drought, or water depletion, unlike other water sources such as rivers, rainfall, or groundwater.
What are the benefits of desalination of water?
Desalination not only removes salt, it also removes harmful metals, chemicals, and bacteria that may be in the water source. Removes bacteria by physically eliminating them using chemical processes.
How does brine affect marine life?
Effect of discharge brine The effect on marine organisms is primarily due to the nearly doubling of the salt concentration and total alkalinity. The highly concentrated brine solution discharged into the sea from a desalination plant can kill marine organisms and cause damage to the marine population.
Does desalination harm marine life? Desalination of surface water intakes is a huge threat to marine life. Mature fish, larvae, and other marine organisms can be seriously injured or killed when trapped or sucked into open intake pipes from the surface of the water.
Why is brine toxic?
Deep and polar saline pools are toxic to marine animals due to their high salinity and anoxic properties, which can eventually lead to toxic shock and possibly death.
Is brine harmful to humans?
Exposure to rad-226, rad-228 may cause health problems. Rad-226 and rad-228, both found in saline waste, are known carcinogens and can lead to bone, liver, and breast cancer in humans if levels are high enough, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Why is brine bad for the ocean?
Since it is heavier than seawater, the brine tends to settle to the bottom of coastal areas where it is released – unless it is diluted. Excess salt reduces the amount of dissolved oxygen in the water, suffocating animals on the seabed.
How does brine affect the environment?
Brine has a high salt concentration, salt ions negatively affect the soil and vegetation in the area, weakening its ability to produce crops and forage. … Brine leaks negatively affect soil and vegetation, reducing their capacity to produce crops and forage (Figure 1).
Is brine harmful to humans?
Exposure to rad-226, rad-228 may cause health problems. Rad-226 and rad-228, both found in saline waste, are known carcinogens and can lead to bone, liver, and breast cancer in humans if levels are high enough, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
How can desalination affect the environment?
What is the environmental impact of desalination? … Desalination can increase dependency on fossil fuels, increase greenhouse gas emissions and exacerbate climate change if renewable energies are not used to produce freshwater. Desalination of surface water intakes is a huge threat to marine life.