2000 Water Quality Report

Major Quality Upgrades at Ortega Reservoir

Ortega Reservoir, like many 1950s era reservoirs is not covered. Because uncovered reservoirs are exposed to the possibility of contamination, Montecito Water District is preparing to cover it.

$7.5 Million Reservoir Construction To Begin
Engineering, design, environmental studies and public outreach with neighbors are underway for the Reservoir cover. Construction of the estimated $7.5 million cover is expected to begin early next year. The cost will be shared with Carpinteria Valley Water District. Montecito’s portion has already been budgeted, and there will not be a further change in rates to cover the construction costs.

Protecting Quality
To ensure that water in the Reservoir continues to meet quality standards until it is covered, Montecito Water has installed new disinfection equipment, a piping system to improve water circulation, and increased monitoring at the facility.

Annual Report on Our
Water Quality

Montecito’s team of water quality professionals work full-time to ensure that you always have high quality water. All are highly trained and maintain state certifications. Their job is to protect and monitor your water supplies, operate Montecito’s advanced treatment facilities, and conduct extensive daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly and annual water quality tests.

The result is that our water quality meets or exceeds state and federal drinking water requirements.

Top Quality
Quality tests can detect incredibly small amounts of substances. For example, the most accurate
tests measure one hundredth of a part per billion. This is equivalent to one foot in 19,000,000 miles, or circling the earth about 750 times.

Water In The Environment
The sources of drinking water (both tap water and bottled water) include rivers, lakes, streams, ponds, reservoirs, springs, and wells. As water travels over the surface of the land or through the ground, it dissolves naturally-occurring minerals and, in some cases, radioactive material, and can pick up substances resulting from the presence of animals or from human activity. Contaminants that may be present in source water include:

Microbial contaminants, such as viruses and bacteria, that may come from sewage treatment plants, septic systems, agricultural livestock operations, and wildlife.

Inorganic contaminants, such as salts and metals, that can be naturally-occurring or result from urban stormwater runoff, industrial or domestic wastewater discharges, oil and gas production, mining, or farming.

Pesticides and herbicides, which may come from a variety of sources such as agriculture, urban stormwater runoff, and residential uses.

Organic chemical contaminants, including synthetic and volatile organic chemicals that are byproducts of industrial processes and petroleum production, and can also come from gas stations, urban stormwater runoff, and septic systems.

Radioactive contaminants, which can be naturally-occurring or be the result of oil and gas production and mining activities.

Water Quality Regulations
In order to ensure that tap water is safe to drink, USEPA and the California Department of Health Services (Department) prescribe regulations that limit the amount of certain contaminants in water provided by public water systems. Department regulations also establish limits for contaminants in bottled water that must provide the same protection for public health.