SCV Water is asking local water users to limit outdoor water use between March 4 and March 10 because water from Castaic Lake will be unavailable for use during scheduled maintenance on Metropolitan Water District of Southern California’s Foothill Feeder.

This facility is part of the system that delivers water to SCV Water for treatment and distribution for urban use.

“SCV Water is taking the necessary steps to prepare so we can continue serving our customers, but we are asking water users to refrain from irrigating next week to help us get through the repair period without any major issues,” said Matt Stone, general manager of SCV Water.

“Outdoor irrigation is the largest single use of residential water, and turning off your irrigation March 4-10 can help achieve the needed extra water savings with the least impact on quality of life,” Stone said.

Stone added that this will be a good week to avoid other major outdoor uses of water, such as draining and refilling your swimming pool.

“The water will be in the lake, we just won’t be able to receive it while the facility is undergoing this annual maintenance,” said Gary Haggin, operations and maintenance superintendent for SCV Water. “Instead, we will rely exclusively on local groundwater sources and treated imported water stored at our reservoirs throughout the valley.”

About half of the SCV’s water is produced by local groundwater, while the other half is imported from the State Water Project and other sources. Ahead of the shutdown, SCV Water will fill all of its storage facilities to capacity. It is anticipated that 92.3 million gallons of water will be stored in various reservoirs and tanks throughout the system.

Haggin also noted that this one-week initiative is not a reflection of our overall water supply. It’s merely a response to the temporary disruption of water delivery while key infrastructure is taken out of service for repairs and maintenance.

Once the work is complete, Castaic Lake’s water will be available again.

“Now that all water services are united as one agency, the collaboration among all operations and distribution staff has helped minimize customer impacts of this scheduled maintenance,” said Keith Abercrombie, chief operating officer for SCV Water. “We have a better view of the overall water picture in the valley, and it’s easier to make decisions and pool our resources to ensure all of our customers continue to receive reliable service.

“It’s remarkable how reliable and durable these kinds of facilities are,” Abercrombie said. “When you think of the continuous operation of municipal water systems, that’s a lot of moving parts. This maintenance and repair is something that has to be done to ensure that the systems will continue to run trouble-free for many years to come.”

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 are 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 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.