Two Dry, Dry Years
Delta in Crisis
What Does This Mean?
What is Monte Vista Water District Doing?
What Can We Do?
Record dry conditions in Southern California and the key watersheds from which it obtains imported water have created worst-case, dry-year conditions.
The city of Montclair received 4.4 inches of rain from July 1, 2006 through June 30, 2007. The normal precipitation is approximately 15 inches per year.
Despite abundant rain and snowfall in early 2008, significant precipitation was not realized in the Spring. Rainfall through June 2008 was 80% of average. The snowpack that looked so promising dwindled in the wake of the driest March-May period on record (5% of average). Runoff is being categorized by hydrologists as low enough to be “critically dry.” Snowmelt is soaking quickly into the ground before making its way into streams and reservoirs, and melting snow is evaporating at a faster pace than usual.
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In addition, there are currently uncertainties on the State Water Project operations due to potential legal and regulatory constraints. The Sacramento Delta, a large maze of levees, islands and farmland, is the hub of the State Water Project, which distributes the normally plentiful Northern California snowmelt to other areas of the state, including Southern California, through the California Aqueduct. In recent years, the Delta has been experiencing distress due to crumbling levees, increasing ocean salinity, and crashing of certain fish populations. On August 31, 2007, a federal judge ruled that pumping from the Delta would have to be cut by as much as 30 percent in 2008 to save the endangered Delta smelt.
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Monte Vista Water District depends on about 50 percent of its water supply from this source in Northern California. The other half comes from local groundwater pumped from the Chino Basin aquifers which are replenished through rainfall, storm water, some recycled water and imported water when it is available.
While there is no supply shortage expected for this year, another dry year in 2007-2008 could result in serious water supply challenges. Even if adequate rainfall occurs this winter, it is likely that deliveries from the Delta will be reduced, due to legal issues involving the Endangered Species Act and the fragile condition of the Delta. In addition, climate change, a growing population, aging infrastructure and water quality issues will eventually add additional stress onto state, regional and local water systems.
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During the past decade, Monte Vista Water District has installed or is in the process of installing seven new groundwater wells to increase our reliance on local groundwater. Several of the new wells are capable of injecting highly treated water into the ground for storage, creating our own underground reservoir to use during dry periods like this one. Injection in the first of these wells began just this last June!
The District is also making recycled water available for use on certain large landscapes in our service area. By using this local, drought-proof water supply for non-potable uses, we will have more potable drinking water available for our customers.
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 Monte Vista Water District’s Watch the Water campaign encourages customers to voluntarily increase their water use efficiency. We’ve made information available about water-saving techniques both indoors and outdoors, local watering schedules for outdoor landscaping, rebate programs for water-saving devices, upcoming conservation classes and events, and links to helpful websites through these web pages as well as through our Waterline newsletter, brochures and signs. The District will also conduct a special outreach effort targeting the business community and the public sector.
Monte Vista Water District believes that we can Watch the Water together to ensure a plentiful supply of water now and in the future!
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