SAN’s Stormwater Capture System Has Diverted More than 20 Million Gallons of Stormwater from San Diego Bay 

Since 2018, San Diego International Airport has been capturing, reusing, and infiltrating rainwater from portions of the Airport before it runs off into the San Diego Bay. Some of the water is used to cool buildings on the airport campus, reducing the amount of potable water used for this purpose, and some is infiltrated back into the earth through bioretention basins.

The Airport’s stormwater capture program has captured, reused, or infiltrated more than 20 million gallons of stormwater as of 2024.  

The Terminal 2 Parking Plaza, which opened in 2018, collects rainwater from the roof, stores it in pipes underneath the plaza and sends it through a series of high-rate media filters and ultraviolet light. From there, it is pumped to the airport’s Central Utility Plant for use in the cooling towers that heat, ventilate, and air condition SAN’s terminals. In 2022, the airport commissioned a 3-million-gallon cistern on the north side of the airfield that captures and sends stormwater to bioretention basins located near the Rental Car Center.  

Currently, the Airport Authority is expanding its capture and reuse system by adding a roughly 1-million-gallon underground cistern on the south side of the campus as part of the New Terminal 1 project. This captured water will eventually be captured, treated, and reused to flush toilets in the new terminal or be directed to newly constructed underground infiltration basins underneath the taxiways.  

By capturing, treating, reusing, and infiltrating stormwater, the Airport Authority strives to meet strict stormwater regulations and meet our water stewardship and stormwater management goals.