San Diego County completes first phase of $827 million Emergency Storage Project

摘要

Because the pipelines that carry imported water to the county cross several major fault lines, there is great concern that an earthquake along any of these faults could cause a prolonged interruption in the imported water supply. Depending on imported water for up to 95% of its water supply and with limited storage capacity and system flexibility, parts of San Diego County would start to run dry within a few days if an earthquake disrupted its supply and could stay dry for up to six months. Because its $126 million economy rests on a supply of imported water, the county cannot afford such a risk. In the 1980s, the San Diego County Water Authority started studying ways to meet the county's emergency water storage needs. The water authority determined it would need to provide an additional 90,100 acre-ft (1.1 x 10~9 m~3) of water storage capacity to meet the county's emergency water needs through at least 2030.