Untapped Resource

San Diego Union-Tribune Editorial -- To understand how thoroughly muddled San Diego County's water policies are, consider this fact:

In spite of growing demand, a relatively dry year and increasing environmentalist threats to water supplies, San Diego cannot withdraw a single drop from Lake Hodges, a sprawling, 30,000 acre-foot reservoir that the city acquired early in the last century. The historical reason for this absurdity was that San Diego lacked the pipelines required to ship the water from the lake, at the south end of Escondido, to its municipal customers.

To remedy this glaring deficiency in the region's distribution system, the San Diego County Water Authority has just finished a $147 million, 1.2-mile underground pipeline to connect Lake Hodges to the Olivenhain Reservoir. The Olivenhain Reservoir is linked to the county's pipeline network. Therefore, water from Lake Hodges can be shipped through the Olivenhain Reservoir and distributed throughout the region. Problem solved, right?

Not quite. In another bizarre twist, the Olivenhain Municipal Water District board has voted to sue the water authority in a bid to keep Lake Hodges water bottled up in Lake Hodges. Why? Because the Olivenhain board believes the water quality in Lake Hodges, which experiences occasional algae blooms, will compromise the quality of the Olivenhain Reservoir, which is filled with imported water from Northern California and the Colorado River.

San Diego officials estimate Lake Hodges could provide 4,000 to 5,000 acre-feet a year of additional water for city residents, at a small fraction of the cost of the notorious “toilet to tap” scheme favored by the City Council. This is enough additional water for up to 40,000 urban residents – a huge untapped supply at a moment of great uncertainty about the future of traditional supplies.

It is imperative, then, that the Olivenhain water board join in a collaborative solution that serves the entire region, not just the narrow, conflicting interests of a single water district.

The simple fact is, the water quality problems in Lake Hodges can be eliminated with the proper treatment process. This has been demonstrated by the two water districts that long have relied on the lake for their supply, the Santa Fe Irrigation and San Dieguito Water districts. A filtration plant shared by the two districts successfully treats the Lake Hodges water to the proper standards.

Why can't the Olivenhain water district do the same? Indeed, it can. But it will cost tens of millions of dollars to build a new treatment facility, because Olivenhain's current filtration plant is not up to the task.

This week, Rep. Brian Bilbray, R-Carlsbad, came riding to the rescue with a bill approved by the House to spend up to $20 million on the necessary new treatment plant. The measure would provide federal dollars to cover one-quarter of the plant's cost, with the rest to be picked up by local sources.

Bilbray's legislation can serve as a catalyst to resolve the dispute with the Olivenhain water district for the benefit of the whole county – provided all parties resolve to work together in good faith.

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