Santa Barbara County is facing ‘serious drought conditions.’ Did recent rain help?

Santa Barbara County is experiencing its lowest rainfall in 10 years, a scenario that is likely the new normal.

“There is substantial uncertainty about how climate change will affect precipitation in our county,” said Matt Young, Santa Barbara County’s water agency manager. “However, the best available science indicates that we may see longer drought periods punctuated by years with more intense rainfall.”

A massive storm hit northern California over the weekend, and Santa Barbara County got rain on Monday, but it would take months of steady rain to move the region out of drought status. Despite the drought conditions, not every jurisdiction in the county is experiencing the impacts in the same way.

Some agencies have greater access to a water supply for a variety of reasons, including more groundwater. Groundwater basins dropped to their lowest levels in most jurisdictions. Two above-average years of rain, in 2017 and 2019, have helped boost those conditions, but overall, groundwater supplies are below average.

The Carpinteria Valley Water District; the cities of Buellton and Solvang; La Cumbre Mutual Water Co., which serves Hope Ranch and Hope Ranch Annex; and Golden State Water Co., which serves Orcutt, are experiencing Stage II drought conditions, which require water cutbacks and other actions.

The jurisdictions in the less severe Stage 1 drought status are the cities of Guadalupe, Lompoc, Santa Barbara and Santa Maria, the Cuyama Community Services District, the Los Alamos Community Services District, the Mission Hills Community Services District, the Montecito Water District and the Vandenberg Village Community Services District. The Santa Ynez River Water Conservation District No. 1 has a “below normal” water supply alert, which requires 10% reduction.

“Countywide, the last 10 years have been the driest on record, putting pressure on both surface water and groundwater supplies,” Young said. “Local water providers who have invested in local sources such as recycled water and desalination are best positioned to make it through the drought with a minimum of mandatory water use restrictions.”

Before the recent rain storm, Cachuma Lake was at about 48.5% of its capacity. Gibraltar Reservoir, which serves Santa Barbara, was at 4.1%.

Earlier this year, the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors approved a proclamation of a local emergency caused by drought conditions.

“Drought conditions of extreme peril to the safety of persons and property have arisen within the County of Santa Barbara,” the resolution states.

“Even with our first rain of the year ... we are facing serious drought conditions in Santa Barbara County,” Second District Supervisor Gregg Hart said. “Water supplies are strained across the entire state of California and locally. Cachuma Lake and our underground aquifers never fully recovered from the long dry period. It’s critical for each of us to do our part to permanently reduce water consumption because climate change is increasing the duration and intensity of drought cycles.”

One jurisdiction, the Carpinteria Valley Water District, is in a Stage II drought.

“I always maintained that drought didn’t end,” general manager Robert McDonald said. “We had a couple of above-average years in 2017 and 2019. It delayed the intensity of the drought.”

McDonald said the district was saved by a large allocation of water after four years of drought from 2012 to 2016, but there won’t be any state water available in 2022 if California does not get 150% of normal rainfall this winter.

“We have projections that if this continues for the next two years, we will need to be purchasing water on the open market in order to serve our customers,” McDonald said.

Earlier this year, the agency purchased 1,000 acre-feet from the Mojave Valley Water District.

However, purchasing water from other jurisdictions is not the long-term answer, officials said. Since all of California is in a drought emergency, many agencies are wanting to purchase water.

“The cost of that water is going up because there is so much demand and limited supply,” McDonald said. “We don’t want to rely on that as a water supply. We are doing what we can to conserve what water we have left.”

McDonald said the agency is looking to spend $30 million, through grants and other funding, on the Carpinteria Advanced Purification Project, a capital project that would clean recycled water and make it drinkable.

“It would be locally controlled,” he said.

Santa Barbara has its desalination plant, and has recently agreed to a partnership to sell water to Montecito.

Young said one future challenge related to climate change is that the state and the county may experience more rainfall overall, but concentrated into shorter periods.

“This will present challenges for capturing and storing water during these shorter wet periods, and making it last through the dry periods,” Young said.

He said the overall condition of the state affects Santa Barbara.

“Our state water allocation was 5% this year, and is anticipated to be 0% next year,” Young said. “As this supply becomes increasingly unreliable, some water purveyors are looking to develop additional local supplies, such as recycled water, stormwater infiltration for groundwater recharge and desalination.”

With so much uncertainty regarding rain, officials are encouraging more conservation.

“We have advocated viewing water conservation as a way of life, in wet periods and dry,” Young said.

Santa Maria has no water restrictions and has ample groundwater supplies for the foreseeable future. Santa Barbara has a desalination plant to supplement its water usage. Solvang is in a shape similar to Carpinteria, which has required all residents to use 20% less water than the prior year.

The La Cumbre Mutual Water Co. has a 30% reduction requirement.

The Goleta Water District has declared “no shortage,” because of ample groundwater supplies and a variety of sources from which to pull water. The district’s main water supply consists of water from Lake Cachuma, which is supplemented with imported water from the State Water Project. The District can also use groundwater from nine District wells to blend its water availability.

“The district has a diverse water supply portfolio that allows for operational flexibility in the event of a drought, conditions at Lake Cachuma, or during an emergency,” said Paula Butcher, an engineer and capital project lead for the Goleta Water District. “ The ability to draw on multiple supply sources to meet customer demand, known as blending, is a critical tool for maintaining reliable water service to the Goleta Valley.

For water conservation tips, go to waterwisesb.org/drought.