keep San Diego beautiful Dought-toleant plants envionmentally-sensitve Bay-Delta The 1895 viewing Sweetwate Dam, Two women A tale of San Diego County s wate If you had to descibe San Diego's weathe, you pobably would use wods like sunny and dy not ainy. Nomally, the coast gets less than 10 inches of ain a yea while the mountains get up to 35 inches. Many people live hee because they like the sunshine. But having enough wate fo such a dy place poses challenges. This is the stoy of San Diego County's wate supply.
1813 1821 1846 1848 U.S.-Mexican Wa begins Mexico wins independence fom Spain Old Mission Dam completed 1900 1850 1941 1944 1947 San Diego County population 35,090 Califonia becomes the 31st state Wate Authoity U.S. entes fomed WWII Coloado Rive San Diego Aqueduct completed Gold discoveed on Sutte s Mill San Diego steet scene Fifth Steet south of Boadway* cl ay po ts ofte Native Ameicans, such as the Kumeyaay and Luiseño tibes, lived hee fist. They lived thei lives vey diffeently than people do today. To make mattes wose, the San Diego Rive could un dy one yea and flood the next, destoying thei cops. Having had enough, the missionaies packed up and moved the mission futhe into the valley. But something still had to be done about the ive that often died up. The solution was to build a dam. In 1813 soldies and Kumeyaay living at the mission built the fist masony dam in the egion. Rive wate became tapped behind the ock wall ceating a esevoi. Finally, even in the diest months, the mission had wate fo its people, cattle and cops. Mexico's eign didn't last long. In 1850, two yeas afte the Mexican-Ameican wa ended, Califonia became the 31st state. About this time, San Diego expeienced a change as many people moved to town to wok and live. In the 60 s, 72-inch pipes wee commonly used. Today they e even bigge! By the 1930s the population aound Los Angeles inceased to the point whee people living thee needed Coloado Rive wate. A newly fomed Cave Couts dawing of San Diego s fist mission, 1846.* Califonia Sacamento Bay-Delta Wold Wa II began as constuction on the aqueduct was being completed. Militay bases acoss San Diego County swelled with Maines and Navy pesonnel pepaing fo wa. Othes came to wok hee to suppot the wa effot. But they didn't come alone. They bought thei families with them. In two yeas, the county's population doubled Califonia Aqueduct in size. The amount of wate used doubled as well. The county needed wate and needed it quickly. Ca lif o ni aa qu ed uc City plannes wanted to build a canal fom the Coloado Rive to San Diego. But that would take too much time. The militay quickly decided that building a t lage pipe fom the Coloado Rive Aqueduct in Coloado Rive Riveside County south to San Diego would solve the Aqueduct poblem. Howeve, the wa ended befoe the militay Los Angeles could complete the pipeline. The San Diego County Wate Authoity, fomed by local wate agencies, San Diego finished the job. It completed the pipeline, known as the fist San Diego Aqueduct, in 1947. Ove the yeas, the Wate Authoity added pipelines to the aqueduct to meet the needs of a gowing population. Today, the Wate Authoity's five pipelines supply most of the wate to San Diego County. o Rive ad Lake M athew s Lake Peis San Diego Aqueduct Most of the population lived in the Old Town and New Town (downtown) aeas, and they needed wate. Wells pumped up dity and foul-tasting wate fom unde the gound. Residents joked, "we boiled it, we sceened it, we boiled it again, and then we dank something else." To make mattes wose, the wells often died up. As moe and moe people moved to San Diego County, something had to be done. Like the missionaies befoe them, building dams became the solution. The dams ceated esevois and the esevois stoed wate fo the dy months. Ove the yeas, they built many dams to captue as much wate as possible. Eventually, the egion's seven majo ives an shot of space to build moe esevois. Plannes had to find wate somewhee else. Hundeds of miles to the east stood a lage souce of wate, the Coloado Rive Rive In 1769, Spanish missionaies came to San Diego County and built the fist Califonia mission on Pesidio Hill nea Old Town. Finding a eliable supply of wate poved to be one of thei biggest challenges. Wate had to be caied up the hill to the mission in animal hides. In 1821 Mexico won independence fom Spain and this aea came unde Mexican contol. Mexico divided Spanish land holdings into lage anchos. And what did Mexico expect fom the anchos? Cattle. Mexico envisioned a hide-tade industy. It woked like this: The anchos aised cattle and shipped thei hides to Boston San Fancisco shoemakes, who then tuned the hides into shoes. These anchos have since become communities like Rancho San Diego, Rancho Penasquitos and Rancho Santa Fe. Maybe you live on one today. F e a the Local natives did moe than follow the wate. In the diest locations, they stoed wate in lage clay pots. They laid ocks to diect unoff (see glossay) to whee they needed it. They gew food on land close to a wate souce and chose cops that used little wate. e g La Saca mento Rive This egion expeienced doughts. Yeas could go by with vey little ainfall. Local tibes leaned how to get the most out of thei limited wate supply. Duing the winte, they would move towad the coast. They knew the winte months bought ain that filled coastal steams and wateed plants. But as the summe months appoached, the steams died, the plants witheed and the tibes headed to the mountains fo wate and food. 1978 wate agency called the Metopolitan Wate Distict took on the massive poject to move Coloado Rive wate to Los Angeles. It included building a lage canal, called an aqueduct, that would cay wate fom the Coloado Rive to thisty cities aound Los Angeles. When completed, the aqueduct looked like a cement-lined ive snaking acoss the deset. Machines called pumps lift the wate fom the ive into the aqueduct, which tavels 242 miles to Lake Mathews in Riveside County. Colo Fist mission in Califonia established Page 1 n fou fe 1800 7:50 AM d e sto l al et t 1769 3/22/2010 te wa ChildensBo4-6REV:Childens Bo4-6.qxd Plannes pedicted that once the wa ended, people would etun to thei hometowns. They didn't. Southen Califonia's sunshine and jobs poved too attactive. The gowth continued and it soon became clea that Southen Califonia's population needed moe wate. While Southen Califonia had a lage population, the nothen pat of the state had the wate. Each winte, the Siea Nevada mountain ange in Nothen Califonia eceives lage amounts of snow. In the sping, the snow melts. The fesh wate flows down into ives and out to the ocean though the Bay-Delta. In the 1960s, the state stepped in with a colossal plan to build the Califonia Aqueduct. The aqueduct would pump wate out of the Bay-Delta in the noth and send it to communities in the south. At 450 miles long, it is the longest aqueduct in the wold.
1813 1821 1846 1848 U.S.-Mexican Wa begins Mexico wins independence fom Spain Old Mission Dam completed 1900 1850 1941 1944 1947 San Diego County population 35,090 Califonia becomes the 31st state Wate Authoity U.S. entes fomed WWII Coloado Rive San Diego Aqueduct completed Gold discoveed on Sutte s Mill San Diego steet scene Fifth Steet south of Boadway* cl ay po ts ofte Native Ameicans, such as the Kumeyaay and Luiseño tibes, lived hee fist. They lived thei lives vey diffeently than people do today. To make mattes wose, the San Diego Rive could un dy one yea and flood the next, destoying thei cops. Having had enough, the missionaies packed up and moved the mission futhe into the valley. But something still had to be done about the ive that often died up. The solution was to build a dam. In 1813 soldies and Kumeyaay living at the mission built the fist masony dam in the egion. Rive wate became tapped behind the ock wall ceating a esevoi. Finally, even in the diest months, the mission had wate fo its people, cattle and cops. Mexico's eign didn't last long. In 1850, two yeas afte the Mexican-Ameican wa ended, Califonia became the 31st state. About this time, San Diego expeienced a change as many people moved to town to wok and live. In the 60 s, 72-inch pipes wee commonly used. Today they e even bigge! By the 1930s the population aound Los Angeles inceased to the point whee people living thee needed Coloado Rive wate. A newly fomed Cave Couts dawing of San Diego s fist mission, 1846.* Califonia Sacamento Bay-Delta Wold Wa II began as constuction on the aqueduct was being completed. Militay bases acoss San Diego County swelled with Maines and Navy pesonnel pepaing fo wa. Othes came to wok hee to suppot the wa effot. But they didn't come alone. They bought thei families with them. In two yeas, the county's population doubled Califonia Aqueduct in size. The amount of wate used doubled as well. The county needed wate and needed it quickly. Ca lif o ni aa qu ed uc City plannes wanted to build a canal fom the Coloado Rive to San Diego. But that would take too much time. The militay quickly decided that building a t lage pipe fom the Coloado Rive Aqueduct in Coloado Rive Riveside County south to San Diego would solve the Aqueduct poblem. Howeve, the wa ended befoe the militay Los Angeles could complete the pipeline. The San Diego County Wate Authoity, fomed by local wate agencies, San Diego finished the job. It completed the pipeline, known as the fist San Diego Aqueduct, in 1947. Ove the yeas, the Wate Authoity added pipelines to the aqueduct to meet the needs of a gowing population. Today, the Wate Authoity's five pipelines supply most of the wate to San Diego County. o Rive ad Lake M athew s Lake Peis San Diego Aqueduct Most of the population lived in the Old Town and New Town (downtown) aeas, and they needed wate. Wells pumped up dity and foul-tasting wate fom unde the gound. Residents joked, "we boiled it, we sceened it, we boiled it again, and then we dank something else." To make mattes wose, the wells often died up. As moe and moe people moved to San Diego County, something had to be done. Like the missionaies befoe them, building dams became the solution. The dams ceated esevois and the esevois stoed wate fo the dy months. Ove the yeas, they built many dams to captue as much wate as possible. Eventually, the egion's seven majo ives an shot of space to build moe esevois. Plannes had to find wate somewhee else. Hundeds of miles to the east stood a lage souce of wate, the Coloado Rive Rive In 1769, Spanish missionaies came to San Diego County and built the fist Califonia mission on Pesidio Hill nea Old Town. Finding a eliable supply of wate poved to be one of thei biggest challenges. Wate had to be caied up the hill to the mission in animal hides. In 1821 Mexico won independence fom Spain and this aea came unde Mexican contol. Mexico divided Spanish land holdings into lage anchos. And what did Mexico expect fom the anchos? Cattle. Mexico envisioned a hide-tade industy. It woked like this: The anchos aised cattle and shipped thei hides to Boston San Fancisco shoemakes, who then tuned the hides into shoes. These anchos have since become communities like Rancho San Diego, Rancho Penasquitos and Rancho Santa Fe. Maybe you live on one today. F e a the Local natives did moe than follow the wate. In the diest locations, they stoed wate in lage clay pots. They laid ocks to diect unoff (see glossay) to whee they needed it. They gew food on land close to a wate souce and chose cops that used little wate. e g La Saca mento Rive This egion expeienced doughts. Yeas could go by with vey little ainfall. Local tibes leaned how to get the most out of thei limited wate supply. Duing the winte, they would move towad the coast. They knew the winte months bought ain that filled coastal steams and wateed plants. But as the summe months appoached, the steams died, the plants witheed and the tibes headed to the mountains fo wate and food. 1978 wate agency called the Metopolitan Wate Distict took on the massive poject to move Coloado Rive wate to Los Angeles. It included building a lage canal, called an aqueduct, that would cay wate fom the Coloado Rive to thisty cities aound Los Angeles. When completed, the aqueduct looked like a cement-lined ive snaking acoss the deset. Machines called pumps lift the wate fom the ive into the aqueduct, which tavels 242 miles to Lake Mathews in Riveside County. Colo Fist mission in Califonia established Page 1 n fou fe 1800 7:50 AM d e sto l al et t 1769 3/22/2010 te wa ChildensBo4-6REV:Childens Bo4-6.qxd Plannes pedicted that once the wa ended, people would etun to thei hometowns. They didn't. Southen Califonia's sunshine and jobs poved too attactive. The gowth continued and it soon became clea that Southen Califonia's population needed moe wate. While Southen Califonia had a lage population, the nothen pat of the state had the wate. Each winte, the Siea Nevada mountain ange in Nothen Califonia eceives lage amounts of snow. In the sping, the snow melts. The fesh wate flows down into ives and out to the ocean though the Bay-Delta. In the 1960s, the state stepped in with a colossal plan to build the Califonia Aqueduct. The aqueduct would pump wate out of the Bay-Delta in the noth and send it to communities in the south. At 450 miles long, it is the longest aqueduct in the wold.
1813 1821 1846 1848 U.S.-Mexican Wa begins Mexico wins independence fom Spain Old Mission Dam completed 1900 1850 1941 1944 1947 San Diego County population 35,090 Califonia becomes the 31st state Wate Authoity U.S. entes fomed WWII Coloado Rive San Diego Aqueduct completed Gold discoveed on Sutte s Mill San Diego steet scene Fifth Steet south of Boadway* cl ay po ts ofte Native Ameicans, such as the Kumeyaay and Luiseño tibes, lived hee fist. They lived thei lives vey diffeently than people do today. To make mattes wose, the San Diego Rive could un dy one yea and flood the next, destoying thei cops. Having had enough, the missionaies packed up and moved the mission futhe into the valley. But something still had to be done about the ive that often died up. The solution was to build a dam. In 1813 soldies and Kumeyaay living at the mission built the fist masony dam in the egion. Rive wate became tapped behind the ock wall ceating a esevoi. Finally, even in the diest months, the mission had wate fo its people, cattle and cops. Mexico's eign didn't last long. In 1850, two yeas afte the Mexican-Ameican wa ended, Califonia became the 31st state. About this time, San Diego expeienced a change as many people moved to town to wok and live. In the 60 s, 72-inch pipes wee commonly used. Today they e even bigge! By the 1930s the population aound Los Angeles inceased to the point whee people living thee needed Coloado Rive wate. A newly fomed Cave Couts dawing of San Diego s fist mission, 1846.* Califonia Sacamento Bay-Delta Wold Wa II began as constuction on the aqueduct was being completed. Militay bases acoss San Diego County swelled with Maines and Navy pesonnel pepaing fo wa. Othes came to wok hee to suppot the wa effot. But they didn't come alone. They bought thei families with them. In two yeas, the county's population doubled Califonia Aqueduct in size. The amount of wate used doubled as well. The county needed wate and needed it quickly. Ca lif o ni aa qu ed uc City plannes wanted to build a canal fom the Coloado Rive to San Diego. But that would take too much time. The militay quickly decided that building a t lage pipe fom the Coloado Rive Aqueduct in Coloado Rive Riveside County south to San Diego would solve the Aqueduct poblem. Howeve, the wa ended befoe the militay Los Angeles could complete the pipeline. The San Diego County Wate Authoity, fomed by local wate agencies, San Diego finished the job. It completed the pipeline, known as the fist San Diego Aqueduct, in 1947. Ove the yeas, the Wate Authoity added pipelines to the aqueduct to meet the needs of a gowing population. Today, the Wate Authoity's five pipelines supply most of the wate to San Diego County. o Rive ad Lake M athew s Lake Peis San Diego Aqueduct Most of the population lived in the Old Town and New Town (downtown) aeas, and they needed wate. Wells pumped up dity and foul-tasting wate fom unde the gound. Residents joked, "we boiled it, we sceened it, we boiled it again, and then we dank something else." To make mattes wose, the wells often died up. As moe and moe people moved to San Diego County, something had to be done. Like the missionaies befoe them, building dams became the solution. The dams ceated esevois and the esevois stoed wate fo the dy months. Ove the yeas, they built many dams to captue as much wate as possible. Eventually, the egion's seven majo ives an shot of space to build moe esevois. Plannes had to find wate somewhee else. Hundeds of miles to the east stood a lage souce of wate, the Coloado Rive Rive In 1769, Spanish missionaies came to San Diego County and built the fist Califonia mission on Pesidio Hill nea Old Town. Finding a eliable supply of wate poved to be one of thei biggest challenges. Wate had to be caied up the hill to the mission in animal hides. In 1821 Mexico won independence fom Spain and this aea came unde Mexican contol. Mexico divided Spanish land holdings into lage anchos. And what did Mexico expect fom the anchos? Cattle. Mexico envisioned a hide-tade industy. It woked like this: The anchos aised cattle and shipped thei hides to Boston San Fancisco shoemakes, who then tuned the hides into shoes. These anchos have since become communities like Rancho San Diego, Rancho Penasquitos and Rancho Santa Fe. Maybe you live on one today. F e a the Local natives did moe than follow the wate. In the diest locations, they stoed wate in lage clay pots. They laid ocks to diect unoff (see glossay) to whee they needed it. They gew food on land close to a wate souce and chose cops that used little wate. e g La Saca mento Rive This egion expeienced doughts. Yeas could go by with vey little ainfall. Local tibes leaned how to get the most out of thei limited wate supply. Duing the winte, they would move towad the coast. They knew the winte months bought ain that filled coastal steams and wateed plants. But as the summe months appoached, the steams died, the plants witheed and the tibes headed to the mountains fo wate and food. 1978 wate agency called the Metopolitan Wate Distict took on the massive poject to move Coloado Rive wate to Los Angeles. It included building a lage canal, called an aqueduct, that would cay wate fom the Coloado Rive to thisty cities aound Los Angeles. When completed, the aqueduct looked like a cement-lined ive snaking acoss the deset. Machines called pumps lift the wate fom the ive into the aqueduct, which tavels 242 miles to Lake Mathews in Riveside County. Colo Fist mission in Califonia established Page 1 n fou fe 1800 7:50 AM d e sto l al et t 1769 3/22/2010 te wa ChildensBo4-6REV:Childens Bo4-6.qxd Plannes pedicted that once the wa ended, people would etun to thei hometowns. They didn't. Southen Califonia's sunshine and jobs poved too attactive. The gowth continued and it soon became clea that Southen Califonia's population needed moe wate. While Southen Califonia had a lage population, the nothen pat of the state had the wate. Each winte, the Siea Nevada mountain ange in Nothen Califonia eceives lage amounts of snow. In the sping, the snow melts. The fesh wate flows down into ives and out to the ocean though the Bay-Delta. In the 1960s, the state stepped in with a colossal plan to build the Califonia Aqueduct. The aqueduct would pump wate out of the Bay-Delta in the noth and send it to communities in the south. At 450 miles long, it is the longest aqueduct in the wold.
Since the Califonia Aqueduct ends at Lake Peis in Riveside County, wate fom Nothen Califonia still has to make its way to San Diego County. But how? Remembe those pipelines built by the Navy and the Wate Authoity? That's how. Lage pipes, big enough fo an adult to stand up and walk though, delive wate fom both the Califonia and Coloado Rive aqueducts though the county to esevois. But it doesn't end thee. Befoe deliveing wate to you home, you local wate agency must clean and test it to ensue it s safe to dink. Lage tanks in you neighbohood stoe the wate. Then it tavels though smalle pipes, unde the steet, to you home and out the tap. What a jouney! Today almost all of the wate used in San Diego county (82%) comes fom the Coloado Rive and Califonia aqueducts. But whee will we find enough wate fo all the people who will live hee in? Planning ahead is the key. Wate Agencies have plans fo futue wate supplies that seem ight out of science fiction. Take eclamation as an example. Wate used in you house can be cleaned up and used again on lawns and plants. Anothe pocess, called desalination, takes ocean wate o backish wate fom undegound and emoves the salts and mineals. The esult is safe, fesh dinking wate. Building new pipes and pumps will help to keep the wate flowing aound the county. Adding new sites to teat wate and make it clean and safe fo dinking is also impotant. Adding places to stoe wate in the county will help if thee is eve an emegency, such as a lage eathquake. Because we live in an aid egion, it also makes good sense to use wate caefully. Saving wate, o consevation, is a good stat. You can make simple choices, such as tuning off the wate when you bush you teeth. Take shote showes. Remembe not to leave the hose unning. Watch out fo leaky faucets and get them fixed. Wate agencies can also help people and businesses save wate by paying fo devices such as wate saving toilets and showeheads. San Diego s wate supply stoy includes many twists and tuns. Wate agencies ae woking to povide a safe and eliable supply fo geneations to come. Ou wate futue includes you. Make a pomise to always use wate wisely.
the Glossay AQUEDUCT ARID BRACKISH WATER COLOSSAL BAY-DELTA RESERVOIR RANCHO RUNOFF SPANISH MISSIONARIES A lage channel o pipe that caies wate ove a long distance. Getting vey little ain; dy. A mixtue of seawate and fesh wate. Vey lage; gigantic; enomous. The aea whee ives fom the Sieas ente the San Fancisco Bay. The deposits fom the ives fom a maze of channels and islands. A place whee wate is stoed. Mex. Sp., anch. A lage aea of land ganted by Mexico fo aising cattle. Wate, usually ainfall o snowmelt, that flows downhill. Fanciscan piests sent by Spain to establish missions thoughout Califonia. Thei pupose was to spead Chistianity to Native Ameicans and potect Spain's inteests in Mexico. 1 Calsbad MWD 2 City of Del Ma 3 City of Escondido 4 Fallbook Public Utility Distict 5 Helix Wate Distict 6 Lakeside Wate Distict 7 City of National City* 8 City of Oceanside 9 Olivenhain MWD 10 Otay Wate Distict 11 Pade Dam MWD 12 Camp Pendleton Maine Cops Base 13 City of Poway 14 Rainbow MWD 15 Ramona MWD 16 Rincon del Diablo MWD 17 City of San Diego 18 San Dieguito Wate Distict 19 Santa Fe Iigation Distict 20 South Bay Iigation Distict* 21 Vallecitos Wate Distict 22 Valley Cente MWD 23 Vista Iigation Distict 24 Yuima MWD A membe of the San Diego County Boad of Supevisos also seves as a epesentative to the Wate Authoity boad of diectos. *The city of National City and the South Bay Iigation Distict ae managed by Sweetwate Authoity. 17 12 8 18 1 2 23 4 14 9 19 21 17 7 3 22 20 16 13 6 11 5 24 10 15 11 10 4677 Oveland Avenue San Diego, CA 92123-1233 (858) 522-6700 FAX (858) 268-7841 www.sdcwa.og 2010 The San Diego County Wate Authoity. All ights eseved.