It's always important to save water in our dry climate, and Carlsbad has long been a leader in water conservation, desalination and recycled water. If you're looking for more ways to save, these resources can help you get started.

Water-smart Art Contest

Calling parents of fourth-grade students! Join the Carlsbad Municipal Water District's Water Awareness Month calendar contest. If your child loves expressing themselves with crayons, markers, or colored pencils, encourage them to submit artwork highlighting how they "Love Water, Save Water." There's a chance their masterpiece could be featured in the 2025 North County Water Agencies' calendar.

Send both colored entry form pages to water@carlsbadca.gov by April 1.

Download the entry form

Questions and answers

Smart water use

Post Date:02/23/2024 9:24 AM

Smart water use as important as ever, even after heavy rains

Whenever we see significant rain here in Carlsbad, it’s usually followed by someone saying, “well, we need the water.” While we do always need more water, rain falling in Carlsbad doesn’t have as significant of an effect on our long-term water reliability as you might think.

  • One reason is that although some rain goes into local reservoirs, most of the rainfall runs off into the ocean. The good news is that reservoirs statewide are above average for this time of year.
  • Another reason local rainfall isn’t going to solve our water supply challenges is that most of our water supply comes from Northern California and the Colorado River.
  • Finally, the amount of snow north of us makes a big difference. You can see from the map below that even though there has been a lot of rain, snow levels are still below normal (you can look at this animation on the NASA website to see how the snowpack changes over the years).

 

Carlsbad city leaders have long been actively involved in water issues, recognizing the critical link between a reliable water supply and our quality of life and economy.

  • Starting about 25 years ago, we were heavily involved in making the desalination plant a reality, which today provides about 10% of the region’s water supply.
  • The plant is the result of a public-private partnership: a private company owns the plant, and the San Diego County Water Authority distributes the water.

Recycled water is another area where Carlsbad has been a leader.

  • Last year, we delivered 1.1 billion gallons of recycled water to customers like HOAs, golf courses and others who need water for non-drinking purposes.
  • Each gallon of recycled water used saves a gallon of drinking water.
  • We deliver more recycled water per capita than any other city in our region except for San Diego.

Expanding the recycled water system

If you’ve been near Poinsettia Lane and Black Rail Road recently, you’ve likely seen some construction activity. This is a new recycled water reservoir tank that will support our ongoing recycled water operations.

Learn more about how we use recycled water.

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