Montecito Water District officials receiving a certificate at Jameson Lake from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in recognition of 75 years of weather observation. From left to right: Steve Hickox, Water Treatment and Production Superintendent; Louis Andaloro, Dam Caretaker; Jan Abel, Board President; Ryan Kittell, Intern; Dessa Garden, Surface Program Manager for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; Mark Lenz, Senior Service Hydrologist

Vital Water Information for Customers of Montecito Water District
Fall 2003

Water News

We Do The Unexpected To Maintain Your Water Supply

Pumping, treating and delivering water from Lake Cachuma are
the obvious things we do to provide Montecito customers with a healthful and adequate water supply. But providing water
service involves doing much more: we maintain our own dam at Jameson Lake, balance water needs from Fox and Alder Creeks, and even collect groundwater that seeps into Doulton Tunnel.
There are other little known activities. Here are a few.

Montecito Water District was a founding member of the Montecito Emergency Response and Recovery Action Group (MERRAG), composed of various associations, businesses and schools, along with the local water, fire and sanitary districts to provide coordinated emergency response.

Your Water District also:

• Maintains backup power generators at key facilities to keep water flowing during power outages.

• Maintains multiple water sources to provide service in the event that one or several are disrupted.

• Works closely with law enforcement and other agencies to protect the water supply from vandalism and terrorism.

Your Water District recently completed a multi-year effort
with other local agencies and
cities to develop an agreement on water rights and water
quality issues on the Santa
Ynez River. Such long range efforts help protect our water supply, maintain water rights
and control costs.

The District participates in the Santa Ynez River Fish Management Plan and similar efforts in local creeks to
enhance the habitat of
endangered steelhead trout
and other species of concern.
The effort involves habitat improvement, barrier removal, and releases of water to
enhance the wildlife
environment.

It’s not enough just to have the water on hand. What if something goes wrong? The District has high tech
monitoring devices that automatically track major elements of the water system
and alert our field crews if any problems arise.

For the last 75 years, the
District has kept weather observation data at Jameson Lake’s Juncal Dam, which
has also helped us manage the water supply. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration presented the District with a certificate in recognition of our years of cooperation in gathering this valuable data.