The second phase of the Water Authority's landmark rate case against the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California starts Monday, March 30, nearly one year after the Water Authority won the first phase with a court ruling that rates set by MWD violate several provisions of California law.

 

Phase 2 will determine the amount of damages the Water Authority should be awarded as a result of MWD's breach of its contractual obligation to set legal rates.  MWD has overcharged the Water Authority tens of millions of dollars each year since 2011.  Whatever damages amount the Water Authority receives, the Water Authority's Board of Directors already has adopted a policy that the agency will deduct its litigation expenses and return the remaining money to its 24 member agencies in proportion to their past payment of MWD's illegal overcharges.

 

Phase 2 will also determine a remaining cause of action asserted by the Water Authority that MWD miscalculates the Water Authority's preferential right to MWD water. Each MWD member agency has a preferential right, or legal entitlement, to a percentage of MWD's available water supplies based on a provision in the MWD Act. MWD has understated the San Diego region's right to purchase water by tens of thousands of acre-feet a year -- more than the annual production capacity of the $1 billion Carlsbad Desalination Project that is expected to begin commercial water deliveries this fall.

 

The trial dates set by San Francisco County Superior Court Judge Curtis E. A. Karnow are March 30 and April 1, 2, 27, 28, 29 and 30. A tentative ruling is anticipated by late May, and a final ruling is expected by late June.

For more information, go to www.sdcwa.org/mwdrate-challenge. 

After an extremely hot and dry winter, the State Water Project is currently projected to deliver only 20 percent of requested supplies, and water agencies across the San Diego region are preparing for the potential that drought conditions will continue into 2016. In addition, the State Water Resources Control Board recently expanded its emergency water-saving regulations to preserve water supplies.

For more information, click here.

While San Diego County residents have done a great job of conserving in recent years, we all must do more. That means reducing outdoor watering days and times, shortening showers, upgrading to water-efficient appliances, and encouraging friends and neighbors to do the same.

 

The Water Authority and its partners offer financial incentives, programs and resources to make the job a little easier:

• Free WaterSmart Checkups -- These site-specific assessments include water-saving recommendations for homes and businesses from certified irrigation professionals.
• The pilot  Artificial Turf Discount Program -- Participating artificial turf companies offer a 10 percent discount on products and services. No application is necessary.
• Rebates for installing water-saving devices and appliances -- High-efficiency clothes washers can use 55 percent less water and 30 percent less energy than standard top-loading models. Rebates are also available for turf replacement,  high-efficiency toilets, rain barrels,  rotating sprinkler nozzles, weather-based irrigation controllers and  soil moisture sensors.
• The  eGuide to a Water Smart Lifestyle -- This go-to resource for household water-use efficiency in San Diego County is an online flipbook that includes 140-pages of plant finders, interactive maps, home and garden calculators, landscape design tools, and details about rebates and incentives.

For more information about current drought conditions, including local water agency regulations, go to whenindrought.org. 

As water supply challenges increased in fiscal year 2014, the Water Authority's strategic investments continued to pay dividends for the San Diego region. The Water Authority won the pivotal first phase of lawsuits against illegal rates set by its largest water supplier, completed the nation's tallest dam raise at San Vicente Dam, advanced potable water reuse by authoring successful state legislation, and prepared for the completion of the largest seawater desalination plant in the Western Hemisphere.

 

 

Those achievements and others are presented in the Water Authority's 2014 Annual Report "Stand & Deliver -- Rising to the Water Reliability Challenge," which is now available online as a fully interactive microsite. It uses words, pictures, three-dimensional animations and video testimonials from community leaders and residents to highlight the Water Authority's work from July 1, 2013, through June 30, 2014.

 

See more at: www.sdcwa.org/annualreport/2014/.