Water Year 2025 and Beyond

Did you know that water has its own calendar? The current Water Year comes to a close on September 30, and Water Year 2025 will begin. While there is no crystal ball to indicate what it will bring, this is a timely opportunity to share highlights from Montecito Water District’s quarterly water supply update which General Manager Nick Turner presented to the Board of Directors at their regular August meeting. 

The District’s focus in recent years has been to increase local, reliable supplies and reduce dependence on the increasingly scant and costly State Water Project. These efforts combined with two years of above average rainfall have put the District in a very different position than it was facing just a few years ago on the heels of the worst drought in history. Now the District’s three-year water supply outlook indicates adequate water to meet projected customer water demand through Water Year 2027 without shortages and without the need for State Water Project or supplemental supplies. The key is keeping customer water use at or below projections! 

Here’s a closer look at the District’s water resources:

The Cachuma Project reached 100% of current full storage capacity in early February 2024. 100% allocation is confirmed for Water Year 2025, and projected through Water Year 2026, with reduced availability thereafter. The District’s full annual Cachuma Project contractual entitlement is 2,651 acre feet. 

Jameson Lake, another critical local surface water supply, is also at 100% of current full storage capacity or approximately 4,848 acre feet. Deliveries up to 2,000 acre feet are possible when the lake is full, this reduces to between 500 and 800 acre feet per year thereafter if the lake level declines due to lack of rain.

Desalination: The District receives 117 acre feet of water each month (approximately 1,400 acre feet annually) per the Water Supply Agreement (WSA) with the City of Santa Barbara. With deliveries occurring rain or shine since January 2022, this serves as a baseline supply for the District. This local, rainfall independent water supply is made possible by the City’s operation of its desalination facility. It is nearly 100% reliable and in place to mitigate the impact of ongoing and future regulatory, environmental, and climatic challenges affecting other water sources. 

Groundwater serves as an important drought supply for the District. The District has six potable and six non-potable active groundwater wells capable of pumping a combined total of approximately 700 acre feet per year. During average or wet conditions, the District rests its wells, allowing the groundwater basin to recover. During below average or dry periods, the District increases groundwater production from the basin. Current annual groundwater deliveries are approximately 128 acre feet, which is primarily non-potable production used for irrigation, with groundwater production estimated at between 100 and 300 acre feet per year through Water Year 2027, depending on hydrologic conditions.

Groundwater Storage (Banking): The District has banked 5,579 acre feet of water (that’s more than a year’s worth of consumption) since it initiated the storage of surplus State Water Project in Semitropic’s Groundwater Banking Program in 2017. This vital program reduces the risk of loss of this water to spill conditions or evaporation, and preserves it until needed to bolster the District’s drought supplies.

State Water Project: With favorable local water supply conditions following the 2022/23 and 2023/24 winters, State Water Project supplies are considered surplus to the District’s needs, and deliveries are not anticipated through Water Year 2027. The District has negotiated a contract that allows for the sale of State Water Project supplies. Revenue generated by such a sale would help offset the District’s other expenses as considered in the recently completed rate study. 

Recycled Water Update: The District remains committed to implementing a viable recycled water project and is currently participating in a Countywide Recycled Water Feasibility Study, which incorporates a project involving both Montecito and Summerland Sanitary Districts. Recycled water is derived from water used indoors, which makes its way through the sanitary sewer system and is then treated for reuse. Prohibitively high costs for low yields of water have been a primary obstacle for prior projects explored by Montecito Water District in conjunction with Montecito Sanitary District. Taking a more regional approach may maximize the amount of water available for recycling resulting in a more cost-effective project. 

The District continuously evaluates water supply conditions, opportunities, and demand-management measures to ensure water supply availability over a three-year planning period and beyond. Currently, annual budgeted water sales align with the five-year average customer use, or approximately 3,950 acre feet. Building community partnership in efficient water use remains the focus, and the District will keep promoting and increasing customer-facing tools such as water conservation rebates, and AMI or smart meters. 

“We continue to do all we can to ensure water supply reliability, and the District is in a great position,” said Turner. “Still, at the end of the day – or Water Year – it’s up to every customer to manage their water use efficiently. So far more than 1,200 District customers have registered for WaterSmart, and we look forward to seeing that number rise as people recognize the many benefits of this new system, including customized leak alerts.”