Santa Barbara water staff present expanded annual report, outline major capital and Gibraltar work

Matt Ward, Water System Manager for the City of Santa Barbara, presented a new story‑map format of the water system annual report at the Water Commission meeting on Dec. 19, detailing operations, distribution work and a multi‑year capital program that the department says will focus on Gibraltar Reservoir, Vic Trace and large‑diameter mains.

The story map, Ward said, highlights the scale of the system — about 27,000 service connections, roughly 330–335 miles of mains, 16 pump stations, and three treatment facilities (Arcadia, Ortega and the desalination plant). “We have a T 5, D 5 water system, so most complex,” Ward said, and he added that “on a good year, Gibraltar supplies about 50% of water to the city.”

Commissioners were shown how the system ties to regional conveyance: the Mission Tunnel (about 3.7 miles long) and CADRE conveyance, and how Vic Trace functions as both a storage hub and a future construction focus. Joshua Hegmark, Water Resources Manager, said the city is also pursuing operational and regulatory steps tied to a pass‑through agreement with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation but cautioned there is no timeline: “The pass through agreement has been executed and in order to fully recognize it, we need to have a WARN Act to be able to store Gibraltar water in Kachuma. And the bureau refuses to take up that until we complete the biological opinion,” he said.

Nut graf: Commissioners heard that the department is ramping capital work after years of planning and supply variability — a program that includes immediate water‑main replacements, Gibraltar dam and accessory work, transmission and pump station renewals, and planning for the Vic Trace reservoir replacement project.

Key distribution and asset‑management points

- Cartograph (the city’s CMMS/GIS platform) now tracks roughly 15,000 distribution activities in the most recent fiscal year; staff say the system will be tuned with consultant help to support targeted, data‑driven asset work. - Valve exercising is a major short‑term priority. The department’s current goal is to exercise about 40% of the city’s roughly 12,000 valves annually; staff said full annual inspection of all valves would be best practice but is not currently feasible. - Staffing remains a constraint: distribution has about 19 operators with multiple vacancies; the department says recent recruitment has improved numbers but that capital work will require additional staffing and training.

Water‑main replacement program and near‑term projects

Ashley Sizo, principal engineer in Public Works, said the city has completed more than 15 miles of main replacement in recent years but has struggled to meet a stated goal of 6 miles per year because larger‑diameter projects are costly and complex. She said the city budgets about $17 million per year for water main work.

Highlighted projects and timing: - Porto Suelo neighborhood — accelerated into construction after a recent break and pavement damage; contractor work was placed under an on‑call contract to move quickly. - State Street (mid‑State between Valerio and Junipero) — a 12–14 inch cast‑iron main with break history; construction scheduled to begin Jan. 6 as part of the FY23 contract package. - De La Vena (Mitchell Terraina to Constance) — also starting in January; coordinated with an upcoming pedestrian safety project. - Lucinda Lane neighborhood — slated for summer construction; multiple breaks previously recorded. - APS / Sycamore Creek crossing — large‑diameter replacement to restore a pipeline that has been out of service since a major break; a new bridge crossing downstream of the existing bridge is planned. - Stanwood Drive (State Route 192) — planning and design to move a large‑diameter easement pipeline into the roadway; the project will be complex and require Caltrans coordination.

Sizo said some projects were packaged into larger contracts to reduce public disruption, but staff acknowledged tradeoffs: combining work increased contractor pricing in at least one case and can mean customers face multiple interruptions if work is not sequenced carefully.

Gibraltar and reservoir work

Staff outlined multiple Gibraltar items: continued operations staffing at the dam (including dam caretaker Frank Dealey), log‑boom replacement performed after storm damage in January 2023, and a DSOD‑prompted evaluation of vintage 1922 spillway concrete. Cushman Contracting executed emergency and subsequent full log‑boom replacement work; one anchor attachment is pending until reservoir levels drop.

Vic Trace replacement and other capital

The city’s Vic Trace Reservoir project is in preliminary design. Staff said the existing single 11 million‑gallon Vic Trace reservoir would be replaced with two buried 5.5 million‑gallon tanks, and that environmental review (an EIR) and community engagement would begin in early 2025. Staff indicated they anticipate construction starting in spring 2028 and noted about 30 public touch points are planned through design.

Energy, hydroelectric and desalination coordination

Hegmark and Ward described nearly 2 million kilowatt‑hours of Gibraltar hydro generation in a recent year and outlined an energy master plan discussion that includes the potential for direct power lines, batteries and timing of deliveries to reduce peak costs at CADRE. Staff noted legal and right‑of‑way hurdles — including the need to coordinate with the Bureau of Reclamation and Southern California Edison for transmission — and that some approvals could require special federal actions if lines cross federal property.

Other capital highlights

- Desalination plant: higher‑power product pumps installed; electrical components remain to be delivered and commissioning is pending. - Transmission main renewal (Phase 1) — valves and appurtenance work to harden the pipeline to convey desalinated water to CADRE; construction to begin in January. - Sheffield pump station — electrical and control replacement design work to ensure long‑term reliability. - Cater finished water resiliency — construction of a new 2.5 million‑gallon chlorine contact basin and buried finished‑water reservoir to eliminate a single point of failure and add finished‑water storage.

Ending: Commissioners praised the story map format and the level of detail; staff said they will return with consultant contracts to refine Cartograph and with additional project updates as planning moves into construction.