Vista Irrigation District to weigh opposing SDG&E power line across its Lake Henshaw land

The Vista Irrigation District board will consider formally opposing San Diego Gas & Electric's proposed Golden Pacific Powerlink at a special meeting at 1 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 14, at the district's headquarters, 1391 Engineer St. in Vista. The district says preliminary routes for the 500-kilovolt transmission line would cut across land it owns in Warner Springs.

The district serves more than 135,000 people in Vista and parts of San Marcos, Escondido, Oceanside and unincorporated San Diego County. It owns Lake Henshaw, Henshaw Dam and the surrounding 43,000 acres over the Warner Valley Groundwater Basin, known as Warner Ranch, and typically gets 15 to 25 percent of its water from the lake, according to an Aug. 17 letter from General Manager Brett Hodgkiss to Supervisor Jim Desmond. Water released from Lake Henshaw also supplies the City of Escondido and five federally recognized tribes, the La Jolla, Pauma, Rincon, Pala and San Pasqual bands.

In the letter, Hodgkiss wrote that construction could alter hydrologic flows, degrade water quality and introduce contaminants into the lake, and that permanent transmission infrastructure poses long-term risks to water production and quality. He noted that several faults, including the Elsinore Fault Zone, cross the Warner Basin.

The district also pointed to firefighting. Cal Fire relied on the district's groundwater wells and Lake Henshaw water to fight the Grade Fire, which began July 31 on property next to district land, helping hold it to about 700 acres, the letter says. "A transmission-line related wildfire, or an incident that damages or limits access to the District's groundwater wells or Lake Henshaw when the immediate demand for those resources is greatest could have devastating impacts to the District's water supply as well as to the local community," Hodgkiss wrote.

Opposition surfaced at the board's Sept. 9 meeting, according to draft minutes. Bob Garcia of the Save Warner Springs Organization said his group strongly opposes the project and asked the board to delay any decisions on property negotiations with SDG&E; President Marty Miller said the board would not make decisions in closed session. Three residents of Warner Valley, Palomar Mountain and Warner Springs also urged the board to oppose the line. The board then met in closed session on potential real property transactions involving four Warner Ranch parcels, with SDG&E listed as the negotiating party. Afterward it reported no action but directed staff to schedule the Oct. 14 meeting. Director Patrick Sanchez said Desmond would hold an open house on the project Oct. 13 and 14.

SDG&E says the California Independent System Operator identified the need for the line, which would run from the utility's Imperial Valley Substation to a new substation in southern Orange County at an estimated cost of about $1.6 billion. The utility's timeline calls for a California Public Utilities Commission filing in fall or winter 2026, permitting from 2026 to 2029, construction starting in fall 2029 and service in 2032. The CPUC will select the final route, according to the project website.

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Jim Desmond

Supervisor, Fifth District, San Diego County Board of Supervisors

Named 2 times in this story.

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Portrait: County of San Diego / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)

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