Water Supply
The Santa Clarita Valley is blessed with a robust water supply portfolio consisting of multiple sources of local and imported supplies. The local sources consist of groundwater from the shallower Alluvium Aquifer and the deeper Saugus Formation. The imported sources are from the State Water Project (SWP) and Buena Vista Water and Rosedale-Rio Bravo Water Storage Districts (BV-RRB) in Kern County. A fifth source of supply is recycled water.
Water supply portfolio is an accurate description in that the individual sources of supply are like individual stocks and bonds in an investment portfolio. Some investments have high variability while others are fairly stable. Performance by individual investments also vary with changes in economic climate. The investments in combination – that is, the portfolio – yield a reasonably consistent rate of return. For our water supply portfolio, the investment performance measure equivalent is termed reliability, and because of multiple sources of supply, our water supply portfolio is highly reliable.
The SWP imported supply is highly variable while the BV-RRB supply is fixed and, hence, absolutely stable. The alluvial groundwater supply yields a fairly consistent supply each year from shallow wells less than 200 feet deep. The Saugus Formation is a very large aquifer with wells almost 2,000 feet deep. It yields less than the Alluvium on an annual basis but, due to its large capacity, it is pumped at higher rates during dry years to offset shortages in other sources and meet higher demand caused by dry conditions. Recycled water is fairly stable regardless of weather conditions. In combination, these sources historically made for a very reliable water supply.
As SCV water demand has increased over the years, the need to bolster our water supply portfolio’s reliability was necessary. This was accomplished by the Agency’s participation in a number of water banking programs that involve storing – in other words, banking – excess SWP water with certain water districts in Kern County. Allocations of SWP water from the California Department of Water Resources are typically higher during years of above normal snowfall and precipitation. If not all of the SCVWA’s SWP allocation is needed in a particular year, the excess is banked for future use when needed. During dry years, when allocations of SWP water are reduced, banked water is delivered to the SCVWA service area to offset overall water supply shortages.
In short, the banking programs are intended to even out the erratic nature of Mother Nature’s provision of water on a year-to-year basis to ensure that water demand by SCV residents and businesses is consistently met year in and year out. The banking programs played a critical role in addressing the local impacts of the most recent drought, which was the driest period during a 22-year period that was the driest in 1,200 years in the American southwest.
During both my employments in the Santa Clarita Valley, I was directly involved in the development and expansion of the SCV’s water supply portfolio. As a Director on the Castaic Lake Water Agency Board, I approved acquisition of additional SWP water to augment the Agency’s original SWP contract amount. Later as CLWA General Manager, I oversaw the Agency’s:
- Initiation of recycled water service to the SCV
- Acquisition of the BV-RRB water supply
- Implementation of the Agency’s first water banking programs
Also while I was CLWA General Manager, the Agency and three local water retailers (all of which are now SCVWA Divisions) pursued litigation and subsequent settlement of a lawsuit against the local Whittaker-Bermite site owners to remediate perchlorate contamination of the Saugus Formation aquifer. This successful effort ensured the polluters – and not local ratepayers and taxpayers – were required to pay the estimated $100 million cost to remediate the contamination. I subsequently oversaw planning, design, construction, start-up and operation and maintenance of the treatment facilities that ensured the continued availability of the remediated portion of the aquifer as a source of supply.
