March Storms Renew Life Along Arid Central Coast

By MILES CORWIN

April 4, 1991 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

SANTA BARBARA — Monterey had been so dry that the Carmel River, the principal water source for the area, had not flowed to the sea in four years, and a strain of steelhead trout was endangered because the fish couldn’t swim upstream.

Now, after the torrential March rains, the river is coursing down the Santa Lucia Mountains so swiftly it has filled two reservoirs, advanced 10 miles in a month and is flowing into the ocean once again.

“When the river first reached the sea, it was like a festival atmosphere,” said Darby Fuerst, a manager for the local water district. “People were hugging and splashing around in the water. There was a tremendous feeling of relief--it was like a symbol that the crisis had ended.”

Although the drought is far from over statewide, the March rains dramatically improved conditions along the parched Central Coast from Monterey to Santa Barbara and saved a number of communities from disaster. The area relies almost entirely on local reservoirs and ground-water supplies.

Because it was one of the wettest Marches in history, the area’s water supply increased by a greater percentage than any other region in California, state officials say.

A few Central Coast communities have ended rationing. Many others have reduced rationing levels and eliminated plans for costly emergency supplies. Goleta, for example, which had been planning to import water by tanker from Canada as early as next fall, has shelved the project.

“These were $100-million rains for us,” said Katy Crawford, president of the Goleta Water District’s Board of Directors. “That’s how much tanker water would have cost us for the seven years we had to commit to.”

In February, Monterey water officials were considering increasing rationing beyond the existing 20% and instituting harsher conservation measures. One area reservoir was down to 5% of capacity and ground-water levels were steadily dropping.

But both of the water district’s small reservoirs spilled last month, and the rains almost refilled ground-water basins. Water officials said they will soon reduce rationing levels and may eliminate it altogether.

About 100 miles south of Monterey, the small town of Cambria had been limiting residents to about 50 gallons a day--one of the stiffest restrictions in the state. But after the rains, the underground water level rose 21 feet, the city’s five wells are back up to normal levels and rationing has been eliminated.

“It’s been an amazing turnaround for us,” said Dave Andres, manager of the local water district. “We went from one of the most drought-stricken cities in the state to one of the best off.”

Before the March rains, Morro Bay was considered the driest community in the state. Every night, residents went to sleep not knowing if there would be enough water in the city’s wells to get them through the next day. While the rains have not eliminated the city’s chronic water shortage or the need for rationing, officials know there is enough in the wells to last until July when an emergency desalination plant will be completed.

Because of the rising reservoir levels, San Luis Obispo has indefinitely postponed plans for a desalination plant. This will save the city $20 million, said Ron Munds, San Luis Obispo’s water conservation coordinator.

Last month, the city’s main reservoir was at 6% of capacity and was expected to run dry in 18 months. But now the reservoir is more than 50% full and will give the city another two years’ supply. While reservoir levels are still too low to consider the drought over, water officials may soon eliminate mandatory rationing and begin a voluntary conservation program.

If the Salinas Valley had endured another critically dry month, some farmers would have had to significantly reduce their planting because the underground water levels were so low, a local water district official said. But the area’s reservoirs, which are used to recharge the ground water, have risen enough to bail out farmers for another year.

While Goleta does not need water from Canada any longer, it will continue rationing and proceed with plans to build a desalination plant. Lake Cachuma, the reservoir that serves a number of cities in the Santa Barbara area, is still only one-third full. Because it is such a large reservoir, it will take considerably more rain for it to reach normal levels for this time of year.

Santa Barbara and Montecito, cities that also rely on Cachuma for the majority of their water supplies, are better off than Goleta because they have small, supplemental reservoirs. Santa Barbara’s reservoir was dry last month, but recently spilled over as a result of the rains, and Montecito’s reservoir, which was at only 17% of capacity, is now almost full.

The Santa Barbara Water Commission recently voted to eliminate the ban on lawn watering, and the City Council is expected soon to approve the commission’s recommendation.

“These rains have saved millions of dollars of landscaping in Santa Barbara,” said Bendy White, a city water commissioner. “Thousands of trees and other plants and shrubs were so stressed by the drought they weren’t going to make it through the summer. Now they’ll survive.”

But because Lake Cachuma is still well below normal levels, local water officials want to ensure the availability of long-term supplies. So, Santa Barbara is planning to build a desalination plant, and Montecito will be signing a contract to share in the project’s water.

Since the rains, Santa Barbara residents have been excited about spring planting for the first time in years, said Les Reid, manager of Katashi Nursery.

“We’re seeing a kind of spring fever now where people are willing to plant landscaping again,” Reid said. “Sales have really perked up. For the first time in a long while, people are optimistic--now they know they’ll have enough water to care for their plants.”

But in Monterey, the euphoria people felt when the Carmel River rushed to the sea has been tempered since the rains stopped. A number of people recently called water officials, urging them to keep rationing levels at 20%.

“After five years of drought, some people are gun-shy,” Fuerst said. “They know that with another real dry year we could be back to where we started.”

The extended drought had devastated the Central Coast because it is not connected to any water sources in Northern California or to Colorado River water.

While the rest of the state has suffered from a severe drought, the situation was exacerbated in the Central Coast. No region in California had been so far below its average rainfall, with such low reservoir levels and so little runoff.

During the last five years, a number of major storms coming down from the north drifted east before reaching Monterey, said Bob Fingado, an engineer with the state’s Department of Water Resources. Tropical storms coming from the south, he said, fizzled out before reaching Santa Barbara. But during March, there was near-record rainfall when a few storms stalled over the area, and reservoir levels rose quickly.

“The Central Coast finally got some luck,” Fingado said. “Some of the storms hit the area hard and they got more rainfall than many other parts of the state. They still need more rain, but the Central Coast is sure looking a lot better than it was a month ago.”

Key Central Coast Reservoirs

Optimism is prevailing throughout much of the Central Coast area--as evidenced here by the buoyant reaction of the local paper after a storm. Recent rains boosted local water supplies and allowed some communities to relax stringent water rationing.

Here is a list of places where the water outlook has brightened since late February, when the series of rainstorms hit the region.

MONTEREY COUNTY

1. Los Padres Reservoir: On Feb. 27, it was 5% of capacity. Today it is 100% of capacity.

2. San Clemente Reservoir: Feb. 27, it was 62%. Today it is 100%.

3. Lake San Antonio: Feb. 27, it was 5%. Today it is 12%.

SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY

4. Salinas Reservoir: Feb. 27, it was 6% of capacity. Today it is 56%.

5. Lake Nacimiento: Feb. 27, it was 7% of capacity. Today it is 35%.

6. Whale Rock Reservoir: Feb. 27 it was 30%. Today is is 40%.

SANTA BARBARA COUNTY

7. Gilbraltar Reservoir: Feb. 27, it was 0% of capacity. Today it is 100%.

8. Jameson Reservoir: Feb. 27, it was 17% of capacity. Today it is 99%.