It’s something we take for granted. You turn a knob on a faucet, and there’s water. But, for some small communities in the Tri-Counties, it isn’t that simple.
Nyland Acres is a small community of about 3,000 people on the northeast outskirts of Oxnard. It has two tiny mutual water companies. They are run, and funded by the property owners, but it’s a low income community.
"We provide water to 183 connection, about a thousand people," said
Dina Ontiveras, who is a Nyland Acres resident. She's President of the Nyland Acres Mutual Water company. They have a shoestring budget.
"We have one part-time bookkeeper, and two part time water meter readers," said Ontiveras.
So, replacing a key water line wasn’t something they could afford. But, thanks to the state, and another water district in the county, the work is happening.
The Calleguas Municipal Water District is going to manage $17 million in state grant funding to help a half dozen water agencies in the county with a number of key water projects.
"The grant agreement combines funding from two different state sources," said Kristine McCaffrey, who is Deputy Director of the Calleguas Municipal Water District.
"Not only does it help that we're administering the funding for them (the local water systems), but we also have expertise and resources to help them."
She said the tiny Garden Acres Mutual Water Company, which serves part of Nyland Acres, is getting $2.5 million for a critically needed new well.
"Right now, they have a single well, so that's a single point of failure." said McCaffrey. "If something happens to their well...they don't have an alternative source of water. So, by building this backup well, not only is that well new, and more efficient, it means they have more than one source available to them."
And, the neighboring Nyland Acres Water Company is getting the $700,000 it needs to upgrade its aging 5” main water line to 8”.
The current line is old, leaky, and has low water pressure. Ontiveras said it's something they simply couldn't afford on their own.
But, some big agencies are also getting help. The Callegas Municipal Water District, the Casitas Municipal Water District, and the City of Ventura are getting a combined total of nearly $13 million to help create an interconnected regional water system.
It will allow the water systems to back each other up during emergencies. And, McCaffrey said it opens new horizons. She notes that Ventura is entitled to some State Water Project water, but it can't get it because it isn't connected to the state network. The Calleguas District is linked to the state system. The state funding will allow a link to be added between the Calleguas and Ventura systems, so the state water can be wheeled to Ventura.
The funding will also allow the Casitas District to link with a Santa Barbara County system.
The $17.6 million in state funding includes a million dollars for the United Water Conservation District to expand its ability to recharge depleted groundwater. And, there is also a $550,000 grant for a UC Santa Barbara research project to look at the Santa Clara River’s groundwater ecosystems.
