Why Problems in the Delta Affect Our Water Rates Here at Home

Joe Grindstaff
Feb 28
3 min read

Split image of a vibrant, green landscape with blue sky on the left and a dry, barren land with an orange sky on the right.

When residents ask me why water infrastructure issues hundreds of miles away matter to our community, the answer is simple.

We are connected.

A significant portion of Southern California’s imported water supply travels through the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta before moving into the California Aqueduct and down to our region. When that system faces reliability challenges, those impacts do not stay in Northern California. They affect costs and long-term planning here at home.

This is not a political issue. It is an infrastructure issue. And infrastructure reliability directly influences water rates.

Missed Water Is Missed Opportunity

In recent storm seasons, California has experienced intense rainfall events. However, limitations in the current Delta conveyance system have prevented the State Water Project from capturing and moving a substantial amount of available water.

According to the California Department of Water Resources, between October 1, 2025 and February 12, 2026, approximately 351,000 acre-feet of water could not be diverted under existing infrastructure and regulatory conditions. That amount of water could serve approximately 3.8 million people or about 1.2 million households for a year.

In another recent season, modeling showed that as much as 867,000 acre-feet of available water went uncaptured. When water cannot be moved during wet periods, we lose the ability to store it for dry years. That creates supply volatility, which ultimately affects long-term cost stability for agencies that depend on imported water.

Climate Change Is Changing the Timing of Water

Historically, California relied heavily on snowpack as natural storage. Snow would accumulate in the winter and melt gradually in the spring and summer. The Department of Water Resources notes that climate change is shifting precipitation from snow to rain, increasing winter runoff and reducing the state’s ability to store water naturally in the mountains. At the same time, modeling indicates that without modernization, State Water Project reliability could decline by approximately 23 percent over the next 20 years. That reliability risk does not disappear. It translates into cost risk.

Infrastructure Risk Is Financial Risk

The Delta is protected by a network of levees, many of which are decades old. There is an estimated 72 percent probability of a magnitude 6.7 or greater earthquake in the region by 2043. A major seismic event could disrupt freshwater flows and significantly impair water exports for months.

When you are responsible for planning a reliable water supply for your community, those risks must be taken seriously. Uncertainty increases long-term financial exposure, whether through emergency purchases, rate volatility, or accelerated capital investments.

Reliability is not just about water delivery. It is about financial stability for ratepayers.

What About Impacts in the Delta?

Many residents understandably ask about environmental and community impacts in the Delta region. The Delta Conveyance Project has undergone a certified Environmental Impact Report process and includes mitigation commitments designed to avoid, minimize, or offset impacts to residents, businesses, agriculture, and recreation

Construction is expected to occur over approximately 12 years, with measures such as traffic management plans, haul road limitations, air quality controls, and an Ombudsman Program to address community concerns.

In terms of agriculture, over 500,000 acres of productive farmland exist in the Delta. The project footprint is estimated to impact approximately 3,788 acres, less than 0.5 percent. The state has committed to preserving farmland at a one-to-one ratio with lost farmland.

Whether someone supports or opposes the project, it is important that discussions are grounded in documented facts.

Who Pays for It?

The Delta Conveyance Project is funded by participating public water agencies that receive State Water Project supplies, not by the state’s general fund. That means agencies evaluate costs carefully because those costs ultimately flow to ratepayers. The central financial question is not whether infrastructure costs money. It always does.

The question is whether investing in modernization today reduces greater long-term cost exposure from system failure, water shortages, or reliability decline.

Why This Matters to Hemet

As we invest locally in projects like Pure Water and groundwater restoration, we reduce our dependence on imported supplies. That is deliberate.

However, imported water will continue to be part of our regional portfolio. The stability of the Delta system still influences our overall cost structure.

If the system becomes less reliable, we face higher volatility.

If the system is modernized and able to capture more water during wet years, long-term reliability improves.

My responsibility is to evaluate these issues carefully and ensure that we pursue a balanced strategy: strengthen local supplies while remaining realistic about statewide infrastructure that still affects our region.

Water planning requires looking decades ahead, not just one rate cycle at a time.