Santa Barbara County IRWM Prop 84
Project Selection Process
Workshop 1
Regional Issues, Conflicts, and Objectives
Category
Issue/Conflict
Objective
Reduce Water Demand
Need for conservation projects to control demand
Need to implement and expand use of recycled water
Need to secure funding for developing and expanding water
reuse
Need to secure funding for water use efficiency projects
Need for updated accurate regional long-term water supply and
demand forecast
Need for better coordination between land use and water
agencies
Improve Operational Efficiency and Transfers
Need to update and reconfigure aging infrastructure
Increase water reuse and
water conservation
measures to increase and
extend existing water
supplies
Improve operational
efficiency, transfers, and
supply reliability
Need to coordinate drought management plans and regional
systems modeling to develop regional response scenarios
Challenge of efficiently managing a complex, integrated,
regional water supply system
Difficulty of meeting peak demands
Need to provide enough water for both human and
environmental needs
Need to improve management strategies using modeling of
infrastructure and habitat systems
Uncertainty regarding Cachuma Project water rights permits
can be viewed as limiting progress on integrating water supply,
downstream water rights, and the public trust doctrine
Insufficient supplies in the Santa Ynez River to meet all human
and habitat needs under all conditions.
Requirement for water releases for habitat protection
Need to interconnect water systems to maximize efficient water
management
Increase Water Supply
Need for affordable water
Increase water supply in the
least costly, most efficient,
and most reliable manner
Match water quality to water use by using lower quality water or
recycled water for wildfire suppression, landscaping, and other
non-potable uses would make more potable water available to
the region
Need to use lower quality water or recycled water for large
agricultural irrigation needs instead of costly and unreliable
SWP water
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Need to maximize use of groundwater basins for storage and
implement conjunctive use to increase supply reliability and
better manage scarce water resources for human and
environmental needs in times of drought
Unreliability of SWP water deliveries
High cost of SWP water
Need to remove and control invasive plants including arundo
and tamarisk
Need to utilize watershed management (including controlled
burns) to mitigate the impact of wildfires, prevent erosion,
protect reservoirs from sedimentation, and increase water
supply
Need for additional water supply to replenish groundwater
basins, maintain water quality, and provide a drought buffer
Need for additional wells to take advantage of existing
groundwater supplies and to implement conjunctive use
Need to increase/reacquire contracted SWP Table A water
rights
Cuyama Groundwater Basin overdraft presents threat to
community’s water supplies
Threat to water supply from wildfires requires short-term and
long-term response planning
Threat to water supply from earthquake requires short-term and
long-term response planning
Need to make better use of water discharged to the ocean
Improve Flood Management
Need to make structural improvements (e.g. widen channels
and upsize culverts) to decrease flooding
Improve management of
groundwater basins through
conjunctive use
Improve flood management
to protect people, property,
and ecosystems
Need to manage river systems to reduce flood flow
Need to restore river bottoms to natural state in order to
increase groundwater recharge
Need to protect infrastructure (commercial, industrial, and
residential) from flooding
Improve Water Quality
Need for additional water supply to replenish groundwater
basins and maintain water quality
Septic systems can impair water quality of groundwater, ocean
and riverine systems
Need to manage agricultural and urban stormwater runoff to
prevent impaired groundwater, river, and ocean water quality
Unfunded water quality mandates apply undue pressure on
ratepayers
Need to reduce wastewater discharges to the ocean to protect
water quality.
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Improve water quality
Improve quality of
groundwater, stormwater
runoff, agricultural water
runoff, and treated water
discharges to regional water
bodies
Practice Resource Stewardship
Recent forest fires could result in increased water runoff which
could damage the ecosystem and result in sedimentation of
reservoirs
Improve water management
to protect and restore
ecosystems and wildlife
habitat
Need to utilize watershed management (including controlled
burns) to mitigate the impacts of wildfires including soil erosion,
sedimentation of reservoirs, habitat damage, and flooding.
Need for removal and ongoing control of invasive plant species
Need to reduce wastewater discharges to the ocean to protect
water quality
Need to reduce and eliminate environmental damage caused
by unintended wastewater releases or leaks
Need for funding to meet requirements to restore fisheries
Need to increase public access to water-dependent recreation
IRWM Statewide Priorities *
Drought Preparedness
Use and Reuse Water More Efficiently
Climate Change Response Actions
Expand Environmental Stewardship
Practice Integrated Flood Management
Protect Surface Water and Groundwater Quality
Improve Tribal Water and Natural Resources
Ensure Equitable Distribution of Benefits
*Guidelines, IRWM Grant Program Funded by Proposition 84 and Proposition 1E, Draft, March 2010
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