The Orange County Water District (OCWD, the district) and regional water agencies recently worked together with the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD) to reach a historic drought preparedness agreement: the Santa Ana River Conservation and Conjunctive Use Program (SARCCUP). The collaborate program is intended to better prepare the region for future droughts and promote water use efficiency in Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties — areas serving millions of customers.
SARCCUP is a $150 million, first-of-its-kind regional groundwater banking program between OCWD, Eastern Municipal Water District, Inland Empire Utilities Agency, San Bernardino Valley Municipal Water District, Western Municipal Water District, and MWD. The Santa Ana Watershed Project Authority helped distribute more than $55 million of grant funding from California Proposition 84 to support the program. Five of the participating agencies are SAWPA members.
“This is another win for Orange County ratepayers as we increase our water supply, enhance the environment and provide storage to assist with future droughts,” said OCWD Board President Steve Sheldon. “OCWD continues to be the national leader in groundwater management through this additional 36,000 acre-feet of storage along with grant funding for five new groundwater production wells that will increase the ability to extract stored water during drought periods.”
SARCCUP will provide a collaborative, watershed-scale approach toward groundwater basin management, replenishment, and water transfers. Under the agreement, the program will use up to 137,000 acre-feet of storage in six groundwater basins. The regional water agencies will collectively plan for droughts while also conducting habitat restoration and assisting with the development of regional water use efficiency programs.
Removal of 640 acres of elephant grass (Arundo donax), an invasive plant that uses 3.75 additional acre-feet of water per year compared to native habitat plants, will be completed within five years, creating annual water savings of approximately 2,400 acre-feet of water—enough to serve more than 5,000 households annually.
As part of this project, approximately $500,000 from Proposition 84 funds will be used to support up to 10 retail water agencies in the watershed to create efficiency-based water budgets for some customers, and to provide landscape design assistance and an education program for residents to maintain their water efficient landscape.
“OCWD supports this collaborative effort because it increases the resiliency of our groundwater supplies against future droughts,” added Sheldon.
