header image

[Sign Up Now] to Receive Our FREE Daily SCVTV-SCVNews Digest by E-Mail

Inside
Weather


 
Calendar
Today in
S.C.V. History
March 28
1934 - Bouquet Canyon Reservoir, replacement for ill-fated St. Francis Dam & reservoir, begins to fill with water [story]
Bouquet Reservoir


The SCV gets about half of its water from the State Project. Local water officials are scheduled to powwow Tuesday.
| Saturday, Feb 1, 2014

clwalogo[CLWA] – The other shoe dropped Friday in the State’s worsening battle against severe drought as the California Department of Water Resources announced that the contractors that buy water from the State Water Project — including Castaic Lake Water Agency — will get zero percent of their 2014 water allocations, barring a miracle end to what has been a devastatingly dry winter.

“This sends a clear message about just how serious this drought is,” said CLWA General Manager Dan Masnada. “California is in the midst of a water crisis and it’s going to affect everyone in the state.”

In late November, gloomy forecasts of a dry winter and below-average Sierra snowpack prompted DWR to announce its initial allocation of 5 percent of the water requested by the 29 agencies that contract with the State Water Project (generally the allocation is adjusted through the winter as precipitation occurs and finalized by no later than May 1st of each year). Friday’s announcement reduced that trickle to nothing, other than some carryover water deliveries remaining from 2013.

How will that affect Santa Clarita Valley residents? Locally, the news is somewhat mixed: On one hand, CLWA and the four local water retailers have done well in creating a diverse water supply portfolio that relatively insulates the Santa Clarita Valley against droughts, through careful management of local groundwater, storage of unused imported water from previous years and purchases of water from other sources outside the SCV.

“On the other hand, the statewide situation is as dire as it’s ever been, and SCV residents need to take action to further protect against the drought’s potential long-term impacts,” Masnada said.

“This is the first time in the State Water Project’s 54-year history that such a drastic step has been needed — they’ve never had to cut deliveries to all SWP contractors to zero before. So, it’s increasingly important for everyone throughout the state, including those of us in the SCV, to use water as efficiently as we can,” Masnada said. “We don’t know how long this drought will continue, and we must do what we can to stretch the supplies we have.”

To that end, the SCV Water Committee — which also includes CLWA, the four local water retailers, the City of Santa Clarita and the County of Los Angeles — is scheduled Tuesday to discuss voluntary conservation measures with the goal of reducing local water consumption by up to 15 percent.

In the meantime, Masnada said, “All residents should start doing what they can to save water. Conservation tips for inside the home and on landscaped areas can be found under the Conservation tab at www.clwa.org.”

It would take much more than a few winter storms to pull California out of the drought, which started with a dry 2012, continued with a record-dry 2013 and has stretched into 2014 with a record-dry January. According to the DWR’s announcement, it would need to rain and snow heavily every other day until May in order to reach average annual rain and snowfall levels.

State officials said the conditions have compelled DWR to take Friday’s action to conserve the remaining water in California’s rapidly emptying reservoirs. The DWR decision comes on the heels of Gov. Edmund G. Brown Jr.’s declaration of a drought state of emergency two weeks ago.

“The harsh weather leaves us little choice,” DWR Director Mark Cowin said. “Simply put, there’s not enough water in the system right now for customers to expect any water this season from the Project.”

 

About the Castaic Lake Water Agency

The Castaic Lake Water Agency (CLWA) is the Santa Clarita Valley’s public water wholesaler. CLWA is one of 29 State Water Project contractors and receives water imported from northern California and Kern County through the California Aqueduct.  CLWA operates two large treatment plants, three major pump stations, three water storage facilities and over 45 miles of large diameter transmission pipelines delivering water to four local water retailers.  Our mission is to provide reliable, quality water at a reasonable cost to the Santa Clarita Valley. www.clwa.org

Comment On This Story
COMMENT POLICY: We welcome comments from individuals and businesses. All comments are moderated. Comments are subject to rejection if they are vulgar, combative, or in poor taste.
REAL NAMES ONLY: All posters must use their real individual or business name. This applies equally to Twitter account holders who use a nickname.

8 Comments

  1. Sandy Pida Sandy Pida says:

    Start saving water from now on

  2. Other states have been seeding the clouds for a while. Maybe California should have been doing this to prevent a drought. Idaho has been. They were thinking of the future.

  3. A few years ago we removed most of the lawn in the back yard. Replaced with rock and pavers. Did the same to the front. We don’t water in the winter since everything is dormant. I guess we will be seeing brown lawns this summer.

  4. buy your water now before the prices get stupid high<3

  5. Get ready, this is just the top of the climate iceberg…

Leave a Comment


SCV NewsBreak
LOCAL NEWS HEADLINES
Thursday, Mar 28, 2024
April 16: FYI Seeks Volunteers To Pair With Local Foster Youth
Local nonprofit Fostering Youth Independence is seeking “Allies” to support Santa Clarita youth who are aging out of the L.A. County foster care system.
Thursday, Mar 28, 2024
California Announces $25 Million in Awards for Youth Mental Health
To support the mental health of California's young people, the California Department of Public Health awarded $25 million to 28 tribal and community-based organizations across the state.
Wednesday, Mar 27, 2024
California Launches New Youth Suicide Prevention Campaign
The California Department of Public Health launched the “Never a Bother” campaign, a youth suicide prevention public awareness and outreach campaign for youth, young adults, and their parents, caregivers, and allies.
Keep Up With Our Facebook

Latest Additions to SCVNews.com
Local nonprofit Fostering Youth Independence is seeking “Allies” to support Santa Clarita youth who are aging out of the L.A. County foster care system.
April 16: FYI Seeks Volunteers To Pair With Local Foster Youth
The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health today unveiled the latest L.A. County Health Survey, which gathers vital data on health behaviors, conditions, neighborhood settings, and the needs of L.A .County residents, informing future public health policies and programs.
Public Health Unveils the 2023 L.A. County Health Survey Findings
Due to the projected rain forecast, Eggstravaganza will now be held indoors at the Canyon Country Community Center beginning promptly at 10 a.m. on March 30.
March 30: Eggstravaganza Now Being Held Indoors at Canyon Country Community Center
To support the mental health of California's young people, the California Department of Public Health awarded $25 million to 28 tribal and community-based organizations across the state.
California Announces $25 Million in Awards for Youth Mental Health
The College of the Canyons Athletic Department will host a dedication ceremony to unveil the Michele Jenkins Softball Team Room in honor of the longtime board member and ardent softball program supporter’s nearly 40 years of service to the district.
April 16: COC to Host Michele Jenkins Team Room Dedication Ceremony
PFLAG Santa Clarita has announced the establishment of the Peggy and Jeff Stabile PFLAG SCV Scholarship. The scholarship will provide financial assistance to LGBTQIA+ students pursuing higher education and committed to advocating for LGBTQIA+ rights and promoting diversity and inclusion.
PFLAG SCV Announces Stabile PFLAG Scholarship
1934 - Bouquet Canyon Reservoir, replacement for ill-fated St. Francis Dam & reservoir, begins to fill with water [story]
Bouquet Reservoir
The California Department of Public Health launched the “Never a Bother” campaign, a youth suicide prevention public awareness and outreach campaign for youth, young adults, and their parents, caregivers, and allies.
California Launches New Youth Suicide Prevention Campaign
The Santa Clarita Master Chorale invites the community to "Let the Sunshine In," a delightful evening of food, wine and song at the annual Cabaret & Cabernet fundraising benefit.
April 20: Santa Clarita Master Chorale’s Cabaret, Cabernet Fundraiser
The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health cautions residents who are planning to visit the below Los Angeles County beaches to avoid swimming, surfing, and playing in ocean waters:
March 27 Ocean Water Warning
As an integral ingredient necessary to help the Santa Clarita Valley to flourish, feedback from the business community is the secret sauce for achieving great things.
SCVEDEC Asks For the Business Community’s Opinion on Santa Clarita
Raise your heart rate while raising funds for the Santa Clarita Sister Cities Dollars-for-Desks campaign to provide school desks for students in Sariaya, Santa Clarita's Sister City in the Philippines.
April 13: Sister Cities Zumba-thon Fundraiser
Remo, Inc. is is the world's leading manufacturer and developer of synthetic drumheads and shells. They’ve been in business for 60 years
SCVEDC Company Spotlight: Drumming Up Big Business with Remo, Inc.
California State Assemblywoman Pilar Schiavo (D-Chatsworth) and Assemblyman James Ramos (D-Highland) have introduced AB 3074 the "School or athletic team names: California Racial Mascots Act."
Schiavo Introduces Bill to Prohibit ‘Derogatory’ School Mascot Names
Los Angeles County’s Justice, Care and Opportunities Department  in collaboration with Local Initiatives Support Corporation Los Angeles is proud to announce the 2nd Annual Pitch Competition for the cohorts of JCOD's Incubation Academy.
March 28: JCOD Incubation Academy Helps Grassroots Non-Profits For the Second Year
Children’s Bureau is seeking foster families and now offers two virtual ways for individuals and/or couples to learn how to help children in foster care while reunifying with birth families or how to provide legal permanency by adoption.
April 18: Children’s Bureau Hosts Virtual Orientation
The Sunburst track was constructed in 1887 by the Southern Pacific Railroad and was a part of the main line running between San Francisco and Los Angeles.
Enjoy Spring With a Ride On The Sunburst Track
California State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond hosted a Personal Finance Summit today where he announced his support for Assembly Bill 2927 (McCarty), legislation that would require a personal finance education course for California high school graduation.
State Superintendent Announces Support for Personal Finance Graduation Requirement
1847 - Probable birth date of Pico Canyon oil driller Charles Alexander Mentry [story]
C.A. Mentry
The first Music Jam Session at The MAIN was held on Thursday, Feb. 22 and was a hit. Come out and join in for the next one on Thursday, March 28 7 p.m.-9 p.m.
March 28: The MAIN to Host Musicians’ Jam Session
Los Angeles County Inspector General Max Huntsman of the Office of Inspector General has issued a report entitled "Tenth Report Back on Implementing Body-Worn Cameras in Los Angeles County."
Office of Inspector General Issues Latest Report on LASD Body Cams
College of the Canyons women's tennis played to a convincing 7-2 conference win over Ventura College on Moica to strengthen its potential playoff resume.
Canyons Closes Out Ventura 7-2 in Final Home Match
Join the Santa Clarita Valley Chamber of Commerce with the Latino Business Alliance at the Cinco de Mayo Networking Celebration on Tuesday, May 7.
May 7: Latino Business Alliance Cinco de Mayo Celebration
SCVNews.com