Santa Fe Irrigation water rate increase to take effect in January

On Nov. 16, the Santa Fe Irrigation District Board of Directors approved an approximate 5% rate increase effective January 1, 2024.

According to a news release, the increase does not reflect any increase in costs from Santa Fe Irrigation District; it is the full pass-through of costs from the San Diego County Water Authority, the region’s wholesale water provider.

“Approving a rate increase is always a difficult decision by the board of directors. However, the expertise and ingenuity of our staff helped to control internal costs, and as a result, we are only passing on the costs of our wholesale water provider,” said Dana Friehuaf, board vice president in the news release. “The increase makes sense as we are using more imported water supplies in the foreseeable future due to restrictions on our local water supply from Lake Hodges. We will continue to find creative ways to manage our internal costs and remain active at the Water Authority to help with solutions to reduce costs for the benefits of our ratepayers and communities.”

Last summer, due to additional damage discovered during the dam repair, the state’s Department of Safety of Dams’ placed restrictions on the Lake Hodges water level, which significantly decreased the district’s access to local water supply. That local water, which averaged approximately 30% of SFID’s annual supply mix, is a less expensive source than imported water from the water authority.

Due to the dam’s “unsatisfactory” rating, the water will remain at the lower level until a new dam can be built about 100 feet downstream from the existing one. According to the city of San Diego, a new dam could be built by 2034 following the required environmental review, design and permitting processes.

SFID customers will receive a notification in the mail with more details about the impact on their bill and when they can anticipate seeing the increase in their statement. For additional information, including a tool to monitor water use, visit sfidwater.org.

SFID currently provides drinking and recycled water services for more than 19,800 residents in the City of Solana Beach, as well as the unincorporated communities of Rancho Santa Fe and Fairbanks Ranch.