Featured Story Archive

The Goleta Valley Remains in Severe Drought

June 14, 2016
Thank you to Goleta Water District customers for all their water saving efforts. We are encouraged by the recent winter rains, but Lake Cachuma is still below 50%. Even with conservation the Goleta Valley remains in severe drought.  Reducing outdoor watering now conserves water for public health and safety. Since as much as half of residential water is used by outdoor irrigation, the easiest way to… Read more

Severe Drought Continues - Answers to Frequently Asked Questions

June 10, 2016
The severe drought continues in the Goleta Valley, and the Stage III Water Shortage Emergency remains in effect.  The lack of rainfall over the last several years means that as we enter the summer months, fire season has already begun.  Please help conserve water for public health and safety. For a full list of current drought restrictions, including mandatory outdoor water restrictions, and assigned… Read more

Lake Cachuma: Running on Empty

April 13, 2016
With winter rains below average for the fifth year in a row, Lake Cachuma is below 15% of capacity and is anticipated to decline further over the summer. Even as green vegetation has sprung up on the hillsides, and plants are flowering, at 72% of average rainfall this year to date countywide there hasn't been enough rain for the Santa Ynez River to run sufficiently to get inflow into the lake. It is… Read more

Preparing for Continued Drought Even with Predicted Rain

February 25, 2016
While everyone is hopeful that El Niño will bring much needed rain, as we enter the remaining few months of the rainy season, the community remains in a severe drought. Read more

Great News for Greywater!

January 13, 2016
The Goleta Water District is excited to announce that customers in the unincorporated Goleta Valley (the area outside the city limits of Goleta and Santa Barbara) can now pipe greywater from their bathroom sinks, showers, and tubs onto their landscaping without having to apply for a building permit, get an inspection or pay fees. This makes them among the first in the state to be able to do so. You… Read more

A multi-year effort to protect and extend water supplies

December 14, 2015
The District has long been at the forefront of conservation, and we have been actively managing the current drought since it began in 2012.  The Goleta Valley’s long history of drought means Goleta Water District customers understand the value of water and the need to conserve.  Residential per capita water use is among the lowest in the state, and there is high consciousness among customers of the… Read more

Stage III Water Shortage Emergency Information

May 13, 2015
On May 12, 2015 the Goleta Water District Board of Directors declared a Stage III Water Shortage Emergency, with mandatory water use restrictions and changes to watering times. The Goleta Valley remains in drought conditions and water conservation is still critical to ensure adequate supplies for drinking, health and public safety.  The declaration is consistent with the requirements of the District’s… Read more

Another Summer of Drought

May 6, 2015
No End in Sight as the Goleta Valley Enters into another Summer of Drought Here in the Goleta Valley we know the importance of water conservation, but we can’t control the weather. In our fourth year of drought we have received only half of our normal rainfall.  Our community faces the worst water shortage emergency in our history— now even more severe that than the 1990s drought so many of us remember. Doing… Read more

Governor Directs Statewide Mandatory Water Reductions

April 7, 2015
On March 17, 2015, the State Water Resources Control Board adopted emergency regulations to encourage water conservation statewide in response to the historic drought.  On April 1, 2015, Governor Brown issued an Executive Order on actions necessary to address California's severe drought conditions.  The Executive… Read more

Stage II Water Shortage Emergency March 2015 Update

March 17, 2015
Goleta has received only 67% of normal rainfall to date this season, putting the area on track for a fourth year of below average rainfall. Lake Cachuma water levels continue to drop, with the lake now only at 28% of capacity at the… Read more