The Borrego Water District (BWD) is a public agency formed in 1962 under the California Water Code with the responsibility of providing potable water, waste water collection and treatment, gnat/flood control services for portions of the unincorporated community of Borrego Springs in NE San Diego County.
The Organization is governed by an independently elected Board of Directors serving staggered 4 year terms. A General Manager, 4 Administration/Customer Service and 7 Operations personnel implement the Boards policies and manage the organizational responsibilities.
BWD is also a key player in Borrego Springs groundwater subbasin sustainability efforts. In January 2020, BWD and the County of San Diego were the first Basin in the State of California to file a Groundwater Sustainability Plan in compliance with the requirement of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA). Shortly thereafter, over 90% of Basin pumpers negotiated a Settlement Agreement that was filed with the Orange County Superior Court and ruled favorably upon in April of 2021.
These efforts resulted in our Basin becoming Adjudicated and water rights were granted to historic pumpers. In addition, the Settlement Agreement created the Borrego Springs Subbasin Watermaster to manage the Basin and implement/enforce the Groundwater Management Plan.
The Watermaster is governed by a 5 member Board appointed by Agriculture and Recreational pumpers, the BWD, At Large Community Member and County of San Diego. Watermaster is staffed with Consultants who have vast experience in Basin management in the State of CA. Due to the efforts of the Watermaster, all de minimus wells are now metered and basin wide pumping is down approximately 50% from estimated 2020 pumping of 22,500 afy.
WHO WE SERVE
Borrego Springs is an unincorporated destination community of approximately 3,500 full-time and approximately 8,000 winter residents, located in a remote northeast corner of San Diego County, approximately 90 miles drive from San Diego and 87 miles drive from Palm Springs.
Borrego Springs is surrounded on all sides by the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park (the Park).
The Borrego Water District provides just over 2,000 potable water connections and 385 sewer connections to commercial, residential and irrigation customers in Borrego Springs.