HISTORY

The Otay Water District was created in 1956 by a small group of private citizens, ranchers and landowners who were concerned about the declining quality and quantity of water from their rural wells.  More than fifty years later, the small public agency they formed in order to gain access to imported water is serving the needs of more than 191,000 people.

The Otay Water District is a California Special District, authorized by the State Legislature under the Municipal Water District Act of 1911.  Its ordinances, policies, taxes and rates for service are set by five directors, elected by voters in their respective divisions to serve alternating four-year terms on the governing Board.  The Board of Directors generally meets on the first Wednesday of each month at 3:30 p.m. at 2554 Sweetwater Springs Boulevard, Spring Valley.  The public is invited to attend these meetings.

The Otay Water District is a “revenue-neutral” public agency, meaning each end user pays their fair share of the district’s costs of water acquisition and the operation and maintenance of the public water facilities.  The district also owns and operates a wastewater collection and treatment system, providing public sewer service to approximately 6,000 homes and businesses within the Jamacha drainage basin.  At the heart of this system is the Ralph W. Chapman Water Recycling Facility. Every day, the Chapman facility produces up to 1.3 million gallons (mgd) of high-quality recycled water.  In addition, up to 6 mgd of recycled water is purchased from the City of San Diego’s South Bay Water Reclamation Plant.  Through a dedicated pipeline system, the recycled water is transported into the eastern Chula Vista area where it is used to irrigate a golf course, elementary and high school playing fields, public parks, and roadway landscapes.

WHERE DOES OUR WATER COME FROM?

With limited groundwater resources and less than 10 inches of average annual rainfall, San Diego county must rely on water imported from other parts of the state to supply approximately 90 percent of its yearly demand.  In the Otay Water District, more than 80 percent of the water comes from imported supplies.  The district buys your water from the San Diego County Water Authority (SDCWA), a public agency which owns and operates the six to eight-foot diameter pipelines that bring water from southern Riverside County. 

Drinking water in the pipes is purchased from the Los Angeles-based Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD), another public agency that imports the water from both northern California and the Colorado River. From these sources, MWD supplies approximately 18 million residents in six southern California counties, and about half of all drinking water in San Diego County.

In addition to drinking water purchased from the SDCWA and the MWD, the Otay Water District also purchases treated water from the Helix Water District and the City of San Diego.

 IS IT SAFE TO DRINK?

Yes.  All of the water Otay delivers is subjected to highly-advanced water treatment methods and technologies.  Your water is continually tested both at the treatment plant and in the distribution system to insure its quality to the tap.

Our annual Consumer Confidence Report of water quality lists the results of these tests and is forwarded to you in July of each year.  A copy of this report is available for download from this website.  Please call (619) 670-2222 if you would like a copy of the most recent Consumer Confidence Report mailed to you.

Immuno-compromised person such as person with cancer undergoing chemotherapy, persons who have undergone organ transplants, people with HIV/AIDS or other immune system disorders, some elderly and parents of infants should seek advice about drinking water from their health care providers.

If you have questions or concerns about the quality of your tap water, please call our Water Operations Manager at (619) 670-2228.