Top Five Reasons San Diego County Needs WaterFix Filling Local Reservoirs: Ensuring a reliable supply of imported water from both Northern California and the Colorado River protects the $1 billion+ San Diego has invested in local storage and emergency preparedness. Protecting San Diego’s Investment: San Diegans have invested hundreds of millions of dollars to build and maintain the State Water Project. Modernizing the system will improve its reliability and maximize San Diego’s return on investment. Staying Reliable: California WaterFix maintains access to the available Northern California supply, which is less than half the cost of new local supplies and which Metropolitan has a permanent right to via a renewable state contract. San Diegans have relied on water from Northern California for more than 40 years as a vital baseline supply for homes and the economy. The reliability of this supply for San Diego and all of Southern California is at risk due to pumping restrictions, deteriorating environmental conditions in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and an aging water system that was not designed to meet today’s challenges. State and federal agencies want to modernize this system through a project known as the California WaterFix that has both water delivery and ecosystem benefits. Here are five benefits to San Diego if the project moves forward. Drinking the Best: Supplies from the Colorado River are high in salts and other dissolved solids that can have an economic cost to consumers and businesses. Water from the Sierra is far cleaner – and tastier. Surviving Droughts: As a region highly dependent on imported water, San Diego County can address this vulnerability by having access to water reserves in the event of drought.