SCV Water officials report they received an outstanding public response to their request for customers to refrain from irrigating last week to accommodate annual maintenance of infrastructure at Castaic Lake.
The scheduled maintenance briefly made water from Castaic Lake unavailable for use.
“Our community did a great job with increased conservation efforts,” said Matt Stone, general manager of SCV Water. “Homeowners, businesses and large institutional water users were all very cooperative. Water demand was down by an average of more than 31 percent from the prior week.”
SCV Water requested that water users limit outdoor water use and refrain from irrigation March 4-10. Castaic Lake water was temporarily unavailable due to maintenance on Metropolitan Water District of Southern California’s Foothill Feeder. This annual shutdown insures time for routine maintenance and needed repairs as proactive measures to prolong the life of the infrastructure.
Gary Haggin, operations and maintenance superintendent for SCV Water said, “With the public’s help, we were able to maintain a buffer of stored water, just in case a local emergency arose, or if the project took a little longer than expected.”
During the shutdown, the SCV was unable to access supplies from Castaic Lake and relied exclusively upon local groundwater and treated imported water already stored at reservoirs throughout the valley.
“The maintenance is done and customers can resume outdoor irrigation,” said Keith Abercrombie, chief operating officer for SCV Water. “However, we encourage a continuing conservation mindset, especially when it comes to outdoor water use.”
“The northern part of the state is abnormally dry for this time of year and rainfall is below average,” Abercrombie said. “Southern California is also experiencing below-average precipitation, and we are seeing the early stages of drought conditions despite a few winter storms.”
Matt Dickens, resource conservation manager for SCV Water said, “During these spring months, most landscape can be irrigated just once or twice a week. Now is a good time to check your irrigation timer settings to ensure optimal operation. Additionally, spring rain showers offer a great opportunity to shut off the sprinklers for a few days to let Mother Nature do the irrigating.”
Dickens added that the State of California has permanently prohibited the following water-wasting practices: allowing water to run off your property onto sidewalks and gutters; washing down driveways and/or sidewalks; washing a vehicle using a hose without a shut-off nozzle; the use of non-recirculating fountains; and irrigating your landscape during and 48 hours after receiving measurable rain.
“We know customers sometimes wonder why they are still being asked to conserve water when we
receive a few winter storms, but the efficient use of water in California is an ongoing priority given the
large variability between wet and dry years in the west,” Abercrombie said. “So, in the meantime, we
simply want to thank all SCV Water customers for their cooperation and conservation, not only last
week, but as a way of life in the Santa Clarita Valley.”
About SCV Water
The Santa Clarita Valley Water Agency is a full-service regional water agency located in the Santa Clarita Valley. SCV Water provides water service to business and residential customers –half from local groundwater supplies and the other half is imported from the State Water Project and other sources.
SCV Water was formed on January 1, 2018 and combines the former service areas of Castaic Lake Water Agency, Newhall County Water District, Santa Clarita Water Division and Valencia Water Company. Following a multi-year public engagement process, the agency was formed through Senate Bill 634 authored by Senator Scott Wilk (R-Antelope Valley) and signed by Governor Jerry Brown on October 15, 2017. SCV Water was formed to improve regional water management, enhance water governance and reduce costs for local ratepayers.
More information can be found at www.YourSCVWater.com.
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3 Comments
Why do they continue to build new homes if there isnt enough water?
The state requires cities and counties to approve new housing as a means of curbing the homeless crisis. The state does not (a) realize that our new homes aren’t affordable for homeless people; and does not (b) make a correlation between housing and water supply like normal people do.
And that is a fine description of just how effed up things are when it comes down to water, and home development(for profit)and places for homeless to live. The State may require that homeless people be a part of future consideration when new development is up for funding.
The issue of “homeless-ness” is not about cities and counties providing spaces – an idea that means nothing – it is about finding a way to involve people who cannot live on their own, and who cannot pay for a decent place to live.
This is an American issue, not just a local one. The USA and it’s several states need to address this issue. I don’t care if you live in a farm house, a farm district, a downtown rent,or a sidewalk tent; there should be a place for all of you and all of us where we should be able to live in a decent condition without being subject to criminal attention from local authorities.
Laws being what they are, the real issue is that working people are not being treated as Americans. Whatever you may believe about foreign humans in California, most of the state’s revenue is dependent upon those workers in agriculture. And if we send them all back to Mexico, there will be no one left to do the work that makes our state the premier source for fruits, nuts, vegetables, avocados, grapes, and other crops.
Unless of course you are anxious to have your sons and daughters out there in the fields making sure the crops are brought in on time.
Because if you aren’t ready to have your kids reaping the crops, then you should give up on having fresh fruit, good grapes for your wines, and all of that cauliflower and beans for your veggie diets.
IN other words, you people are going to kill California’s worldwide dominance of the country’s fruit and veggies production. And that will end your lovely source of wines from the Napa Valley. And the the wonderful strawberries from Oxnard. Although I will tell you that the Santa Maria Valley strawberry’s kick ass by comparison.
In other words, you will kill that lovely lifestyle that makes you so sure you are the kind of people that the world owes it’s existence to. But really does not need. Trust me – y’all can just move to Texas or Puerto Rico and the rest of us will do fine.
Just as long as you pay your taxes.