Montecito Water District Does Double Duty

Source: Montecito Water District

In November the Montecito Water District’s Board of Directors convened twice: in addition to the regular monthly meeting, a special public meeting was held to discuss the formation of a Groundwater Sustainability Agency (GSA) for the Montecito Groundwater Basin.

On November 15th the Board approved and executed the agreement for participation in the Semitropic Water Banking Program, marking progress on an initiative that has been in the works since April of this year. The agreement now awaits approval from the Department of Water Resources, and the District aims to be in the position to store water in Semitropic’s groundwater storage bank in early 2018. “The main significance of the Semitropic arrangement is that it increases the reliability of the District’s State Water Project deliveries. This puts the District in a more leveraged position, and supports the Urban Water Management Plan, which points to 85% water supply reliability by 2025,” said Director Floyd Wicks.

Additional agenda items were informational and included a Capital Project update on the successful completion of the water main replacement on Ashley Road, and satisfactory maintenance and inspection reports for Juncal Dam. Directors also reported on outreach made to Montecito Sanitary District for collaboration on recycled water and desalination and discussed possible next steps such as a joint Ad-hoc or Strategic Planning Committee meeting to include Directors from both agencies. 

On November 16th the District held a special board meeting to provide a community update on the State’s Sustainable Groundwater Management (SGMA) initiative and the formation of a Groundwater Sustainability Agency (GSA) for the Montecito Groundwater Basin. The meeting was co-facilitated by local engineering consultants from Dudek, the firm contracted to support the project, and presentation slides and the meeting video are available on the District’s website at: http://www.montecitowater.com/sustainable-groundwater-management.php

The next Board meeting will be held at 2:00 pm on Tuesday, December 5th in the District Office.