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State Water Project

Supplemental Water purchases are also conveyed through the State Water Project

California's Department of Water Resources Web Site

Background & Current Considerations

The California State Water Project (SWP) is a water storage and delivery system of reservoirs, aqueducts, power plants and pumping plants extending more than 700 miles—two-thirds the length of California. Planned, constructed, and operated by the Department of Water Resources, the SWP is the nation’s largest state-built, multi-purpose, user-financed water project. It supplies water to more than 27 million people in northern California, the Bay Area, the San Joaquin Valley, the Central Coast and southern California. SWP water also irrigates about 750,000 acres of farmland, mainly in the San Joaquin Valley.

Popular vote approved the construction of the State Water Project Coastal Branch Aqueduct following a serious drought between 1987 and 1991. Deliveries of State Water to Montecito began in 1999. While many costs for contract holders are fixed, the amount of water allocated varies from year to year as determined by the State, an historical allocation table can be found here.

In 2016, after having implemented water use allocations for customers in 2014 due to severe drought, the District embarked on a decade-long transformation to improve water supply reliability for the community, a critical effort that continues today. This strategic initiative focuses on diversifying water supplies and reducing reliance on rainfall-dependent sources, like State Water.

Numerous actions taken through this transformation have reduced the District's reliance on State Water. The District has not utilized State Water to meet customer demands since 2019. Now, when State Water is available for the District, it is stored or sold.

In 2017 the District acquired groundwater storage rights in the Semitropic Groundwater Banking and Exchange Program. Because State Water allocations exhibit a decreasing trend, and supplies are typically available during wetter periods when not fully needed for customer use, participation in Semitropic provides a mechanism to take receipt of State Water when available and save it for use during future dry periods when annual allocations are likely to be reduced. Over the last decade, the District has stored nearly 6,000 acre feet in the program which represents approximately one and a half years of current customer demand.

On September 29, 2026, Montecito Water District’s Board of Directors approved a non-binding Letter of Intent to sell approximately 40% of the District’s State Water contract interests. This project is currently in process and is anticipated to take several years to complete.

Please reference the links below for more information:

Board Meeting packets and presentations are also available online, and a brief Q&A is posted below. Please contact the District directly at 805-969-2271 with any additional questions.

Questions & Answers

This list is derived from public inquiries received regarding the potential sale.