Sweetwater Authority is Quiet on Plan to Cover Sweetwater Reservoir with Solar Panels

Listen . . . you can hear the crickets chirp.

Ever since it was learned that SWA is providing an elevated level of PFAS—toxic "forever chemicals"—in our drinking water, there hasn't been much talk about putting solar panels on our reservoir. Those proposed solar panels could add even more PFAS.

It is interesting that Sweetwater Authority's tagline reads "Providing safe, reliable water". That could be debated.

They provide to approximately 190,000 people in National City, Bonita and the western and central portions of Chula Vista, California.

The SWA boundaries cover over 45.1 square miles. A majority of the water delivered to Sweetwater Authority customers comes from the Sweetwater River. The SWA 230-square mile watershed stretches from the Cleveland National Forest to the San Diego Bay.

Sweetwater Authority is governed by seven Board Members, five from South Bay elected by division by the citizens and two appointed from National City by that city's Mayor (Ron Morrison) and confirmed by the NC City Council.

Elizabeth Cox represents our area as the South Bay District 5 Director.

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According to the Sweetwater Authority website, "Sweetwater Authority owns and operates Loveland Reservoir, Sweetwater Reservoir, a brackish groundwater desalination facility and deep freshwater wells."

For quite a while, SWA was pushing hard to put solar panels over a large portion (approximately 200 acres) of the Sweetwater Reservoir. That effort was being fought whole-heartedly by citizens in the "Save Sweetwater Reservoir" group. They have been silent since December 2024, about five months, while waiting to see what ensues.

"Ten Reasons to Reject the Floating Solar Panels on Sweetwater Reservoir" outlined their arguments against the proposed solar array.

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And then there's also that pesky $7 Million repair needed to correct a flawed spillway design on the Sweetwater Dam.

According to California’s Division of Safety of Dams, the design of Sweetwater’s spillway is flawed, with the discharge needing to be focused more toward the structure’s center. While the dam itself is still sound (Rating: FAIR), the fear is that flooding could cause parts to erode should corrections not be made.

Sweetwater Authority has their hands full between the PFAS dilemma and the faulty spillway on the dam. Whatever will they do?

So in the meantime, we sit and wait.

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