What's the Diff Between Sweetwater Authority and South Bay Water District?

Susan Heavilin
19 minutes ago
3 min read

Tomorrow's meeting of the Sweetwater Authority starts at 5PM but there's an earlier 4:30PM meeting of the South Bay Water (SWA). What's the difference between the two and which meeting should the public tune into to find out the latest happenings with Sweetwater Authority? They've had incongruent schedules lately and it's tough to figure out when they are meeting and when they are not.

Friend or Foe?

According to Google, they are not competitors; rather, South Bay Water (officially the South Bay Irrigation District) is the governance and funding branch of the Sweetwater Authority.

South Bay Water (SBW): An independent special district formed in 1951. Its five elected directors represent the residents of Bonita and western/central Chula Vista.
Sweetwater Authority: Created in 1977 under a joint powers agreement between SBW and National City. It is the operational and public utility entity that actually manages and delivers water to about 200,000 residents.

Key Distinctions & Operations

Governance: The 7-member Sweetwater Authority board is composed of five directors elected from South Bay Water, plus two appointed by the Mayor of National City.

Service Area: The utility covers National City, Bonita, and western/central Chula Vista. We are represented in the Bonita-Sunnyside area by Division Five Director, Elizabeth Cox.

Water Sources: Unlike many other regional providers, Sweetwater procures about 30% to 40% of its water locally via reservoirs (Loveland and Sweetwater) and deep freshwater wells, which helps keep water rates lower.

How Did They Happen to be Intertwined?

According to the Sweetwater Authority in their history website, South Bay Water, formally South Bay Irrigation District, is a Special District organized in 1951. The district joined the San Diego County Water Authority in 1952.

South Bay Water is governed by a 5 member Board of Directors, elected by voters who reside within their Divisions. The 5 elected members also serve on the Board of Directors of Sweetwater Authority. The South Bay Water Treasurer, Secretary and Management are representative of the unique arrangement between Sweetwater Authority and South Bay Water. They answer to both Sweetwater Authority and South Bay Water Board of Directors, which reflects the integral relationship between the two agencies.

In 1990, Sweetwater Authority exercised its option to purchase the water system from South Bay Water and issued approximately $22,700,000 in revenue bonds. The bonds were necessary to finance the construction of improvements to the water system and to acquire the water system by paying off the balance remaining from the 1977 South Bay Water bond issue.

Sweetwater Authority Mission Statement

The mission of Sweetwater Authority is to provide its current and future customers with a safe and reliable water supply through the use of the best available technology, sound management practices, public participation and a balanced approach to human and environmental needs.

Sweetwater Authority Boundaries

Gross land area (square miles): 45.1

Loveland Reservoir: 5.1
Service area: 36.1
San Diego Bay: 3.7
City of San Diego: 0.2

A majority of the water delivered to Sweetwater Authority customers is obtained from the Sweetwater River. It is influenced by the land uses in its 230-square mile watershed, a land stretching from the Cleveland National Forest to the San Diego Bay. | Image: Sweetwater Authority | Click on the image above to enlarge.

Tune into the 5PM Sweetwater Authority Meeting tomorrow.