The CAPP will provide purified recycled water that is injected into groundwater basins, stored for several months and then pumped out for drinking water purposes.
The CAPP will provide purified recycled water that is injected into groundwater basins, stored for several months and then pumped out for drinking water purposes. Credit: Courtesy photo

After more than a decade of work, the Carpinteria Advanced Purification Project (CAPP) is forging ahead, following a 4-1 Carpinteria Valley Water District vote to approve construction contracts last week. 

The water supply project will replenish the groundwater basin with recycled water purified in a new Carpinteria Sanitary District facility. CAPP is a joint Carpinteria Valley Water District and Carpinteria Sanitary District project first proposed in 2016. 

Project plans and permits reviewed by the Carpinteria Planning Commission in September show a new, 12,000-square-foot purification facility based at the Sanitary District treatment plant, a 10-inch pipeline to deliver the water, two injection wells on Meadow View Lane and Linden Avenue in Carpinteria, and two monitoring well clusters in the same area.  

Once built, the project would provide up to 1.3 million gallons of purified water per day, which could supply 25% of the district’s water needs, according to the district. 

The Carpinteria Advanced Purification Project includes a new purification facility at the Carpinteria Sanitary District treatment plant, a 10-inch pipeline to deliver the water, two injection wells on Meadow View Lane and Linden Avenue in Carpinteria, and two monitoring well clusters in the same area.  
The Carpinteria Advanced Purification Project includes a new purification facility at the Carpinteria Sanitary District treatment plant, a 10-inch pipeline to deliver the water, two injection wells on Meadow View Lane and Linden Avenue in Carpinteria, and two monitoring well clusters in the same area.   Credit: Courtesy photo

CAPP will cost roughly $90.7 million, with $73.3 million in construction costs and $17.4 million in related planning and permitting costs. It is funded by $34.5 million in state and federal grants and a 30-year, $50-million state loan with an interest rate of 1.7%, at $1.9 million a year. 

The board will continue to apply for additional funding, staff said last week. 

Carpinteria Valley customers can expect water bill rate increases of 7.5% in fiscal years 2026, 2027 and 2028, and 4% in 2029. 

For example, a typical single-family residence with a ¾-inch pipe that paid $145 per month in fiscal year 2025 can expect to pay $156 per month in fiscal year 2026, $168 per month in fiscal year 2027, $180 per month in fiscal year 2028 and $186 per month in fiscal year 2029.

Similarly, a typical commercial building with a 1-inch pipe that paid $630 per month in 2025 and can expect to pay more each year and and pay $807 monthly in fiscal year 2029.

The board on Jan. 14 once more reviewed possible alternatives to CAPP and the construction bids on the table. Construction bids last fall came in higher than initially expected, and repeated complaints from community members about location, cost and construction noise have popped up as the project made its way through the city planning bodies.

Public commenter Ben Van Der Kar stated CAPP “may go down in history as the most regrettable thing to ever happen to the Carpinteria Groundwater Basin.” 

But district staff and representatives said the district must do something to help the Carpinteria Valley survive future droughts and reduce its reliance on outside water. 

Carpinteria gets 80% of its water from outside sources, such as Lake Cachuma and the State Water Project, in a normal year. Those sources can be expensive and unreliable during periods of extended drought, water district staff said. CAPP alternatives currently on the table, such as injecting and storing water in the local groundwater basin ahead of a drought, would continue to rely on outside water to supply Carpinteria. 

“There’s going to have to be costs expended to address future droughts, whether it’s with CAPP, or whether it’s with another project,” consultant Rob Morrow told the board last week. 

He said taking the project back to the drawing board “is not going to make CAPP any cheaper,” citing inflation, redesign costs and the risk of losing already-secured grants. “Delaying CAPP is not a good option,” he said. 

The majority of the water district board agreed, stating while the costs are high — and agreeing it is a hard decision to make — the valley must reduce its reliance on outside water.

Director Casey Balch dissented, citing concerns about the high cost. 

He stated it is too much debt for the area to take on and that relying on storage with local groundwater banking is a good alternative. 

Director Polly Holcombe disagreed on Balch’s point about the alternative, given its reliance on outside water. “One of the things that we’ve never had down here is control,” she said before throwing her support behind the project. 

Construction is expected to begin sometime this year. The district hopes to have CAPP operations up and running by the end of 2028.

— Noozhawk South County editor Evelyn Spence can be reached at espence@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.