What SFID Is Doing to Meet Your Water Needs

Due to the ongoing drought conditions, Santa Fe Irrigation District has adopted mandatory water-use conservation measures to ensure continued water supply deliveries and a reliable and sustainable supply of water to its customers.

Water Conservation

The quickest and least expensive way to reduce overall demand and safeguard our water supply to protect the health, safety and welfare of the public is through conservation.

The District initiated formal water conservation measures on Oct. 16, 2008, when the General Manager declared a Drought Response Level 1 Condition, urging voluntary reductions in water use.

On May 21, 2009, the Santa Fe Irrigation District Board of Directors declared a Drought Response Level 2 Condition for the Distric's service area, placing mandatory restrictions on water use.

For specific steps you can take to conserve water, see Water Saving Tips.

Water Supply Initiatives

The District is committed to protecting its water sources and investigating ways to increase its local supply of water. Programs include:

Desalination

The District signed a Water Purchase Agreement with Poseidon Resources Corp. to obtain 2,000 acre-feet per year of water from Poseidon’s Carlsbad desalination plant, representing about 14 percent of the District’s average annual need of 13,500 acre feet. The plant is scheduled to be operational by 2012.

Recycled Water

The District is currently delivering approximately 500 acre feet (163 million gallons) of recycled water, which represents almost 4 percent of total water consumption. The District is also exploring other recycled water delivery opportunities and is continuing to expand its recycled water customer base.

For more information, see Water Sources.

Community Outreach and Education

In 2009, the District launched the volunteer Water Ambassador program. The Ambassadors are local residents who perform public outreach in their community to promote water conservation, build sustainability and ensure quality of life for future generations.