Farm Land in San Diego County: Avocados, Citrus & the Cost of Water

A grove economy built on imported water

San Diego County's inland foothill belt -- centered on Fallbrook and extending through Valley Center, Bonsall, and Pauma Valley -- has long been one of California's most concentrated avocado and citrus growing regions, with Fallbrook's nickname as the "Avocado Capital of the World" reflecting decades of grove development well-suited to the area's mild coastal-influenced climate and hillside terrain. Unlike California's Central Valley agricultural regions, though, San Diego County has essentially no significant local surface water supply of its own to speak of -- it depends heavily on water imported from the Colorado River and Northern California via the Metropolitan Water District system, delivered locally through the San Diego County Water Authority (SDCWA) and its member water districts.

That dependence on imported water has made SDCWA's treated water rates among the highest in California for a long time, and this cost structure has directly shaped the grove economy here for decades. Rising water costs beginning in the 1990s and 2000s pushed some growers to remove avocado and citrus acreage entirely, shift to less water-intensive crops, or exit farming and sell land for development -- a genuine, well-documented economic pattern distinctive to this region rather than a generic 'water costs money' observation applicable everywhere.

The Imperial Valley water-transfer arrangement

In the early 2000s, San Diego County Water Authority entered into a long-term water conservation and transfer arrangement with the Imperial Irrigation District, under which SDCWA funds agricultural water-conservation improvements in the Imperial Valley in exchange for the conserved Colorado River water being transferred to San Diego County -- one of the largest agriculture-to-urban water transfers in US history. This arrangement is part of why San Diego County's water costs, and by extension its agricultural water costs, are structured differently than in most of California, where water rights and costs are more directly tied to local surface or groundwater supply.

What this means for a buyer evaluating grove or ag land

If you're evaluating inland San Diego County land with existing or potential avocado or citrus production in mind, water cost and water-district service structure matter as much as, or more than, soil quality and microclimate. Confirm which water district serves a specific parcel, its current rate structure and tier system (agricultural water programs in this region often use special reduced-rate tiers for qualifying growers, worth asking about directly), and whether the parcel has an existing water meter and connection or would require a new one. Because water costs and district programs change over time and were not independently verified for this page, treat any specific rate or program detail as something to confirm directly with the relevant water district and the county agricultural commissioner's office before making a purchase or planting decision.