San Diego’s water world is very happening right now.
As our Scott Lewis reported, San Diego County Water Authority is facing an existential crisis. The high cost of water has one of the water supplier’s most powerful members — the city of San Diego — has leaders who are wondering if it’s time to do something drastic to the Water Authority. But the city of San Diego has controlled the Water Authority for decades.
For this week’s show, our editor sat down with San Diego County Water Authority General Manager Dan Denham for a special interview.
He acknowledges the Water Authority made poor decisions in the past — in particular agreeing to by desalinated water. He said on the podcast that should be seen by city leaders as a warning — a canary in the coal mine — that city leaders should think about as they embark on their own massive project to reuse wastewater. Seawater desalination is a similar energy-intensive process as the one used to make sewage potable.
The interview is deep in the water but we made it as easy to understand as possible. You’ll want to know why rates are high and getting higher.