Opinion of a Water Authority Board Member: City Should ‘Pause’ Phase 2 of Pure Water

The San Diego City Council is poised to decide on significant and needed water rate increases. The City Council – and ratepayers deserve the truth, not a blame game.

City staff have been quick to point the finger at the San Diego County Water Authority, while portraying the City’s multibillion-dollar Pure Water project as a cost-saving alternative. That narrative may make for convenient headlines, but it misrepresents the facts and risks misleading ratepayers about the true drivers of their bills.

The reality is Pure Water San Diego is first and foremost a wastewater compliance project. The city is legally required under the federal Clean Water Act to reduce discharges at the Point Loma Wastewater Treatment Plant. Absent Pure Water, San Diego would have had to spend billions upgrading Point Loma to secondary treatment standards. Pure Water was designed as a workaround: divert wastewater, clean it to potable standards, and avoid the cost of ocean discharge upgrades. The water produced is valuable, but it is secondary to the project’s true purpose.

San Diego does not lack for water supply. Thanks to decades of strategic investments by the San Diego County Water Authority, our region already enjoys one of the most reliable portfolios in the West. Long-term conservation agreements with the Imperial Irrigation District, independent Colorado River transfers, and the Carlsbad desalination plant together ensure water security even during drought. Unlike much of California, we are not dependent on shrinking “surplus” Colorado River allocations or uncertain deliveries from the State Water Project.

What the city’s consultants at Stantec have produced is a cost analysis that blurs the line between water and wastewater. By factoring in “avoided costs” — upgrades the city no longer has to make at Point Loma — they make it look as if Pure Water’s new supply is inexpensive. In reality, the Phase 1 cost is about $3,547 per acre-foot, and with both phases complete, the water still costs over $2,100 per acre-foot. These costs are substantially higher than existing Water Authority supplies.

Meanwhile, City officials continue to blame the Water Authority for looming retail rate hikes. This is scapegoating. The Water Authority carries fixed costs to maintain reliable imported supplies — costs that remain even as the City diverts resources toward Pure Water construction. The Authority has also fought for subsidies through Metropolitan Water District’s Local Resources Program, which further reduces the net cost of local recycling projects, including Pure Water itself.

None of this means Pure Water is bad policy. In the long run, potable reuse can help San Diego adapt to climate change, reduce dependence on imported supplies, and add resilience to our system. But those benefits come at a steep price. Before rushing into Pure Water Phase 2 — another $4 billion commitment — policymakers should pause. They should reevaluate projected production volumes, account for the East County recycling program already under construction and ask whether additional capacity is needed.

San Diegans deserve transparency. Ratepayers are already conserving at extraordinary levels. Water demand has flattened even as population has grown. The Water Authority is trying to sell potential surplus supplies that may not be needed locally in the near term. Against this backdrop, launching Pure Water Phase 2 without a clear affordability plan risks overburdening families and businesses.

The honest story is this: Pure Water is a compliance project with valuable side benefits, not a cheap water supply alternative. The Water Authority should be recognized for building the resilient portfolio that secures our region today. And the City owes its ratepayers a candid explanation of why bills are rising — and what future investments truly make sense.

Madaffer is a former San Diego Councilmember, board member and past chair of the San Diego County Water Authority and Vice Chair of the Colorado River Board of California.

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