BUELLTON – The Central Coast Water Authority (CCWA) is pleased to announce that the State of California’s Department of Water Resources (DWR) has approved the assignment of the State Water Project (SWP) contract (SWP Contract) from Santa Barbara County Flood Control and Water Conservation District (District) to CCWA. Since 1991, CCWA has been financially responsible for the SWP Contract, as well as the conveyance, treatment and delivery of SWP water to Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties. CCWA has pursued the full and complete assignment of the SWP Contract for more than a decade.
This transition aligns fiscal responsibility for the SWP Contract with the contractual authority to manage this important supplemental water supply for the region in a manner that maximizes beneficial use of the resource and optimizes water supply reliability. By having CCWA hold the SWP Contract directly, the region benefits from streamlined governance, clearer accountability and a single point of contact for SWP matters in Santa Barbara County. It also modernizes CCWA’s administrative and management of the supply for the benefit of the region’s retail water providers and their customers, the ratepayers.
“The assignment brings contract responsibility and day-to-day operations under a single, locally focused organization,” said CCWA’s Executive Director Ray Stokes. “By consolidating fiscal responsibility and management within CCWA, we can enhance transparency, improve coordination with our member agencies and continue providing reliable, cost-effective water supplies to the people and businesses of Santa Barbara County.”…