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Q&A San. Diego County Water Authority & Imperial Irrigation District Q. Would the transfer require a new pipeline/tunnel facility from the Imperial Valley to San Diego County? A. The Authority is pursuing a contract to wheel the water through MWD'sColorado River Aqueduct to avoid construction of parallel or duplicate facilities. The Authority has studied the feasibili- ty of building its own facility to the Colorado River, either on its own or in a partnership with Mexico (which has its own Colorado River entitlement and a need to deliver more river water , to growing Tijuana). A decision to construct a new delivery facility must be made separately from a decision to enter into a water transfer agreement with liD. Q. How would the transfer agreement with 110 affect the Authority's relationship with MWD? A. Through its Integrated Resource Plan, MWD encourages the Authority and other member agencies to develop their own water supplies. The Authority wel- comes the opportunity to diversify San Diego County's water supply, making it less dependent on MWD, its only source of imported water. However, the Authority does not intend to terminate its long-standing membership in MWD. Rather, the Authority expects to remain MWD's largest customer. Q. How would an Authority- liD water transfer agreement affect MWD and its member agencies? A. It has the potential to relieve pressure on MWD's limited, water resources and thus to help the Authority's fellow MWD member agencies to have more secure water supplies. MWD also could gain increased certainty as to the source of the additional water it will need in the future. In addition, as the Authority-lID transfer is a key to the "4.4 Plan" mentioned above, it would help MWD maintain access tosurplus Colorado River water when it is available in the future. Q. What would be the.impact on the state of California? A. A water transfer agreement between the Authority and lID has the potential to benefit California in several ways. As it makes San Diego" County's water supply 'more reliable and provides an eco- . nomic stimulus to the Imperial Valley, it could strengthen the Southern California economy. As it provides a Southern California ,'. solution to a Southern California water supply problem, it could reduce reliance on State Water Project deliveries from Northern California rivers and help relieve pressure on the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta. As it uses California's water to help solve a California problem, it may avoid contentious disagreements involv- ing other states. Q. What is the scope of the' Authority's public outreach effort concerning the water transfer agreement? A. The Authority's public out- reach effort is similar to that which it undertook for the summary of draft contract terms released in July 1996 by the Authority and lID. At that lime, the Authority conducted more than 100 briefin- gs, then compiled all of the input for presentation to its directors before transfer negotiations resumed in 1997. With release of the contract in December 1997, the' Authority will brief each of its member agencies and offer briefin- gs to San Diego County's cities and to interested private organiza- tions. In addition, the Authority plans to hold a public information- al meeting in January 1998 and a formal public hearing on Jan. 22, 1998. Input gathered in this fash- ion' will be presented to the ' Authority board of directors before the directors vote on the' agreement. A summary of the agreement is available to the pub- lic at the Authority's two offices, 3211 Fifth Ave. in San Diego and 610 West Fifth Ave. in Escondido, at other local water providers and public library branches. December 1997 .1553 @San Diego Co.nty Woler iluthority