Positive Economic Impacts for BWD
Last updated 8/25/2024 at 12:04pm
As previously reported in the last edition of The Sun, the Borrego Springs Watermaster has released its preliminary finding regarding the Basin’s Sustainable Yield (S/Y) and concluded its 8,403 acre-feet per year. The sustainable yield represents the amount of water that can safely be extracted each year. There are other factors, such as water quality and others, that technically define sustainability, but the S/Y is the only volumetric factor expressed in acre feet per year (one acre foot equals 325,851 gallons). State law requires all Groundwater Basins to be sustainable on or before 2040 and one factor is reducing Basin pumping to the S/Y. Previously, the S/Y number was 5,700 afy. The new number represents a 47% increase. Updating data thru 2022 including actual groundwater elevations at a number of wells in the Basin were contributing factors to the increase.
There are positive economic impacts for pumpers in the Basin, including BWD, from an increased S/Y. BWD has committed to provide water for its existing customers which equates to 1,550 afy. With the original S/Y, BWDs water rights in the year 2040 amounted to around 610 afy, and an additional 940 afy would be needed to meet the 1,550 afy demand from existing customers. With the increase in S/Y, the amount of future pumping reductions needed for sustainability is less. BWD’s water rights will now yield 47% more or approximately 900 afy. Only 650 afy is now needed to meet existing Customer demand of 1,550 afy. Any new development will need to obtain water rights (Baseline Pumping Allocation) from an existing pumper and transfer those rights to BWD for potable water meters.
Over the past year, BWD has acquired approximately 640 afy of water rights thru the acquisition of previously irrigated farmland. With the increased S/Y BWD can now say it owns enough water rights to ensure the long term water demands for BWD customers will be met without any additional purchase. BWD spent approximately $5.5 M for the land and water rights acquired. It could be estimated that BWD can now avoid an additional $2.6 M in future land purchases due to the increased S/Y, which is a big benefit to BWD and its Customers.
The only downside risk to an increased S/Y is if the core assumptions are proven to be wrong and the S/Y would need to be decrease in future years, thus reducing or eliminating any of the economic benefit mentioned above. The process to recalculate the S/Y occurs every 5 years and the next will be due in 2030.