Most of the water we drink in San Diego County comes from the Colorado River. Seven other states and parts of Mexico also rely on the Colorado River for water.

California must reduce its draw from the river, and the Interior Department is threatening to declare a Colorado River water shortage, which could further reduce California's share.

Excessive reliance on imported water is unreliable. The San Diego County Water Authority has been working to supplement local supplies, including the water purchase agreement with the Imperial Valley. But this provides only stopgap relief.

Desalination is a good alternative to imported water because it's increasingly affordable, reliable and under San Diego's control, not the control of the Los Angeles-based Metropolitan Water District. Desalination also would provide valuable economic and environmental benefits.

Reverse osmosis technology used in desalination was born out of San Diego's own General Atomics in the 1960s. Today San Diego County is home to much of the international desalination industry: More than 35 desalination-related companies employ 2,200 people and generate more than $200 million in annual revenue.

In Carlsbad, we have an opportunity to put this technology to work. The proposed $270 million Carlsbad desalination project will bring an estimated $170 million in spending during construction, create 2,100 jobs during construction, and $37 million in annual regional spending once the plant is operating. It will create jobs, generate tax revenue, improve water quality and enhance water reliability with a drought-proof supply.

Putting the desalination facility next to the Encina power plant allows Carlsbad to minimize environmental impacts and reduce costs by sharing the power plant's ocean water intake and outfall infrastructure. Operators of the power plant keep the mouth of the lagoon open to the ocean, so the ecosystem is more like an offshore reef than an enclosed estuary. Agua Hedionda lagoon is home to a thriving aqua farm where 300,000 pounds of mussels and 1 million oysters are harvested and sold to restaurants each year. The lagoon's fish hatchery, run by Hubbs Sea World, returns thousands of endangered fish to the ocean every year while providing important marine life research.

The economic and environmental benefits of desalination are clear. It remains to be seen if local water officials can move fast enough to bring the Carlsbad desalination plant on-line before a drought-induced water crisis hits. Poseidon Resources has been working with the city of Carlsbad and local water agencies since 1998 to develop the desalination facility, a public-private partnership that will provide county residents with 50 million gallons of drinking water per day at a guaranteed price, while protecting public agencies and taxpayers from financial risk.

The San Diego region's economic development depends on water reliability. The County Water Authority and its member agencies and ratepayers should unite behind Carlsbad's desalination plant. Our future depends on it.