The Goleta Water District provides water to approximately 75,000 customers in Goleta and parts of Santa Barbara. There are more than 14,000 active water accounts within the District. The District uses approximately 230 miles of pipeline to provide water to its customers.
The District spans 29,000 acres and extends from the Santa Barbara County South Coast area west to Santa Barbara's city limits at El Capitan. It is bound on the south by the ocean and on the north by the foothills of the Santa Ynez Mountains.
Since 1956, the majority of Goleta's water supply has come from the Cachuma Project, located in the mountains just north and west of the District. Water from Lake Cachuma is divided among five water purveyors, including GWD. The District is entitled to 36.25 percent of the Lake's available supply -- the equivalent of approximately 9,300 acre-feet per year.
In July 1997, Goleta and its surrounding communities along the South Coast were connected to the State Water Project by a 143-mile pipeline, treatment plant and other facilities. State water will ensure an adequate water supply to the Goleta community during dry periods. The District will receive approximately 4,500 acre-feet per year from the State Water Project.
The District has the capability to produce about 2,000 acre-feet of water per year from 12 District-owned wells in the Goleta ground-water basin. In addition, GWD can use 13 other privately and publicly owned wells for injection of treated water to recharge the ground-water basin.