1. Water Supply and Drought Resilience
Central Coast Sustainability Summit
Thomas D. Fayram, PE
Santa Barbara County Public Works

2. Sustainability Review
Current Water Supply Situation
Exhausted Cachuma Reservoir
No Allocation in 2016
No Allocation for 2017
Carryover Water in Reservoir almost gone.

3. Water Supply Inputs (South Coast)
Local Surface Water (Cachuma, Gibraltar, Jamison)
Imported Water (State Water Project)
Groundwater
Recycled Water (Goleta, City SB)
Desal (coming soon)

4. Conjunctive Use & Supply Strengths
Availability of Imported and Local Supplies Vary
Sustainability – Identify supplies as supplemental or primary
Supplemental – “use it when you can get it”
Primary – “be sure its there when you need it”
Experiences from the Drought
State Water Project – Offset Groundwater Pumping (North County), Supplement Surface Water (South Coast)

5. County Regional Plumbing / Water Transmission Facilities

6. Cachuma Project

7. Cachuma Project Constructed 1950’s (1959 first spill)
Current Capacity, 193,300 Acre-Feet
Current Storage, ~14,000 AF
Intended as a 7 Year Supply ( historical modeled Critical Drought Period)

8. Cachuma Reservoir Cachuma is a multi-benefit resource
Key benefits Include;
Important Water Supply Feature for South Coast; SY Valley / Downstream
Multiple Other Important Benefits
Recreation
Modified Storm Operations (Flood Control)
Sustains A Unique Micro-Environment
Economic
SWP Delivery Conduit

9. Cachuma Historical Storage

10. Cachuma Historical Storage

11. Historical Rainfall SY River Watershed
(7 yr Critical Drought)

12. Current Drought 5 Year Period most Severe on Record
Yet to Define 7 Year Period
Coincides with increased loss of supplies (Cachuma, SWP)

13. Steps to Sustainable Water Supply
Cachuma on 7 year Safe Yield
Cachuma is our key to supply and capacity
reductions in supply continue
Access Imported Sources when Available (capacity designed for supplemental source)
Develop Desal / Recycled Sources
Continued Conservation
Develop New options (Desal for SWP?)
Maximize other; grey water, storm water Capture

14. Summary Cachuma Is a multi-benefit Resource
Single Purpose Projects no longer feasible
Cachuma' s Paramount Purpose is as a Reliable Water Supply
All Other Benefits are Compatible with making Cachuma a Reliable Water Supply
Better Management of the Lake Benefits Everyone

15. Questions
“And it never failed that during the dry years the people forgot about the rich years, and during the wet years they lost all memory of the dry years. It was always that way.”
John Steinbeck