San Diego County water customers won't feel new federal Colorado River cuts, the county's water authority says. The infrastructure that shields them, though, has driven local water bills sharply higher.

The U.S. Department of the Interior finalized operating guidelines on Aug. 21 requiring Arizona, Nevada and California to reduce Colorado River consumption by a combined 1.25 million acre-feet per year starting in 2027. California's share is 440,000 acre-feet, enough to supply roughly 1.5 million households, Times of San Diego reported.

Jeremy Crutchfield, water resources manager for the San Diego County Water Authority (SDCWA), said the region's senior water rights and reservoir reserves put local customers at the back of the line for any reductions.

"The way that our agreements are structured, we do have a senior right to the water," Crutchfield said. "So, we aren't part of the first cuts of California."

The cuts aim to maintain water levels at Lake Powell and Lake Mead. The two reservoirs together hold less water than at any point since Lake Powell began filling in 1963, the Department of the Interior said, as High Country News reported. Twenty-six years of drought have drained both. The new rules take effect Thursday, Oct. 1.

For La Jolla and the rest of San Diego County, the insulation traces to a string of big-ticket investments. A landmark 2003 agreement secured the county more than 200,000 acre-feet of water through transfers from the Imperial Irrigation District and canal improvements that reduced seepage.

The Carlsbad desalination plant, the largest saltwater facility in the country, produces enough water for 400,000 residents each year, Crutchfield said.

SDCWA General Manager Dan Denham said in an Aug. 21 statement that the authority would work with other basin states on water exchanges and cooperative solutions.

Those investments came at a cost. A draft Municipal Service Review presented to the Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) found that SDCWA wholesale water rates climbed 164% over 15 years, more than triple the rate of inflation. LAFCO voted 5-3 on May 4 to suspend that review for four years. The authority's board also approved an 8.3% wholesale rate increase, the Los Angeles Times reported in March.

San Diego City Councilmember Jen Campbell criticized the authority at a January 2025 council meeting, alleging it was not doing enough to control costs after water prices came in at double the agency's earlier forecasts.

Pure Water San Diego, a $1.14 billion water recycling program approved in 2021, is set to supply nearly half of the city's water by 2035.

The authority also struck a deal to sell at least 10,000 acre-feet of water per year over 21 years to the Western Municipal Water District in Riverside County, a contract expected to bring in about $100 million in its first five years, the Los Angeles Times reported.