With Santa Maria River flowing again, annual Santa Maria Valley groundwater report to be released this week
SANTA MARIA, Calif. – A public hearing is scheduled this week by the Twitchell Management Authority (TMA) where it will release its annual report on water conditions in Santa Maria Valley Management Area.
"It is a report card of the condition of the basin in 2023 by comparison to the previous year," said Randy Sharer, Twitchell Management Authority Chair. "The TMA through (Management Area Engineer) Luhdorff and Scalmanini has for 15 years produced an annual report."
The meeting is set for Thursday, June 6, at 10:00 a.m. in the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors chambers at the Joseph Centeno Betteravia Government Administration Building in Santa Maria.
With the meeting to be held this week, it comes at the same time water is once again flowing in the Santa Maria River from nearby Twitchell Reservoir.
"Santa Maria Valley Water Conservation District manages the facility for the Bureau of Reclamation," said Sharer. "The board made the determination that once the Sisquoc (River) ceased its flows to the confluence, which is the confluence of the Cuyama and Sisquoc River, which creates the Santa Maria River, it's now time to optimize the water we have over 30,000-plus acre feet currently behind the dam and get it in the ground. All it does is evaporate quite a bit as it sits in the reservoir, so the whole plan now is just let her open and get it in the ground."
As he gets ready to lead Thursday's meeting, Sharer called the condition of the groundwater basin as "outstanding and improving."
"The last couple of above average rainfall years, have created not only improved quantity, but also with the inflows of the natural water coming from Sisquoc (River) and the recharge water coming out of the Twitchell Reservoir, these are very clean waters, which only enhances and improves the water quality in the basin."
It's a basin that Sharer said relies on having what he called is its most valuable resource.
"When you consider that 95% of all the water used in the Santa Maria Valley, be it for agriculture or industry or domestic use, 95% of that is pumped out of the ground," said Sharer. "It's a resource that we need to not only maintain, but do the best of our abilities improve year in and year out."
