I’m a stickler for water use; my family might say I’m an obnoxious water warden.
The kids have grown and gone, so it’s only my husband who gets the evil eye when he rinses dishes instead of merely wiping them with a wet cloth before loading them in the dishwasher.
It’s harder to stick to my rants in wet winters. Water year 2024 was a very wet year, with rainfall topping out at 162% of the 50-year average.
Our reservoirs filled completely; we didn’t directly use our State Water Project allocation of 40% of our requested supply.
Water year 2025 delivered only half the average precipitation, leaving Lake Cachuma at 78% capacity.
This water year, ending Sept. 30, we will likely finish up at about 26 inches: 144% of the average.
Moreover, a super El Nino is on the way, with climatologists projecting perhaps the wettest year on record for California.
How can we plan water delivery for such variable rainfall?
The city of Santa Barbara provides a noteworthy water source chart on its website. There’s some comfort in reviewing the graphic, realizing how our water derives from several sources.
Santa Barbara has “the most diverse portfolio” of water in California, according to the site. Historically, we depended on just three sources: Lake Cachuma, Gibraltar/Mission Tunnel, and groundwater.
Now water managers have developed four additional sources: recycled water, desalination, conservation, and the State Water Project, which delivers water from Northern California.
Allocation among these sources varies widely by year. The year before the huge 2024 rain season, the County Water Agency data shows 40% of water deliveries emerged from groundwater, 26% was sourced from Cachuma Lake, 14% from the State Water Project, and 10% from “other surface water.”
The remaining 10% was developed from desalination and recycling.
For now, the Northern California watersheds providing our state allocation are in significantly better shape than lakes Mead and Powell on the Colorado River.
The Colorado, which provides water for seven states including Southern California, has averaged 21% lower flow this century than last, largely because of rising temperatures. Federal data show the river has shrunk by 32% since 2020.
Ian James describes this situation in the L.A. Times: “The desiccation of the river’s headwaters is shrinking a critical water lifeline for about 35 million people and 5 million acres of farmland across the Southwest.”
We are in good shape at the moment. From our own history of drought and the reality of climate disruption, however, we know our water picture will be austere long-term, compared to our desired use.
Eighty percent of Santa Barbara county’s water flows to agriculture. We are top producers of strawberries, nursery plants, broccoli, lettuce, and wine grapes, among other crops.
Many local farmers are experimenting with lower-water use and adopting drought-tolerant varieties.
Local academic institutions like UCSB are partnering with farmers to discover how small adjustments can yield significant water savings.
Grants from nonprofits including the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden encourage outreach and demonstration projects in rural areas to help growers adapt to stricter state groundwater limits.
Maintaining crop health with much less water is happening through the application of devices such as precision drip lines, soil sensors, mulching, and deficit irrigation.
While Santa Barbara’s non-agricultural use is only one-fifth of the total, it is the part most of us can control.
One way to monitor and curb residential water use is with a water alarm. The device is installed inline on the main water line, reporting to an ap which provides insightful charts and comparisons. It shows how you’re using water and is useful for finding leaks, small and large.
It could be helpful in discussing too-long showers with your teenagers. However, it hasn’t convinced my husband to wipe (not rinse) our dirty dishes. Is there an ap for that?