SCV water supply off to a good start this year, but snowpack problems loom

Santa Clarita’s local rainfall is in a better place than this time last year, and with more Santa Clarita Valley Water Agency wells back in production, the agency will likely have more locally sourced water available to meet demand in 2026.  

Because of significant storms that hit the valley in late 2025, local precipitation is at 147% of the water year average, for a total of about 25.3 inches of rain between October and February.  

That’s according to Sarah Fleury, SCV Water’s senior water resources planner, who presented on the status of the agency’s water supply at its regular board meeting Tuesday. 

Fleury said the agency’s goal each year is to use a 50-50 split of imported water – mostly from the State Water Project’s annual allocation to the agency, which varies from year to year – and groundwater from the valley’s two aquifers to meet demand. 

Several of the agency’s wells, which collect water from those aquifers, were taken out of production about six years ago after sampling turned up PFAS, a class of chemicals used to make products stick-resistant that’ve infected water supplies across the country.

Those wells have steadily been brought back into production as the agency has built treatment facilities to address PFAS (perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances) contamination, and Fleury said the agency may soon meet that 50-50 ratio.  

Last year, 67% of SCV Water’s water production came from imported water. 

“In 2020, we lost (over) half of our wells,” Fleury told The Signal. “There was a lot of groundwater production that wasn’t available through the last drought … so when we talk about, ‘We’re getting more groundwater wells back online,’ that just allows us to have more flexibility with production.” 

Increased rainfall also means the agency’s water reserves are almost back to pre-drought levels: In 2020, the agency had about 145,000 acre-feet of water banked with water storage districts, and by 2023, those reserves were down to about 90,000 acre-feet, according to Fleury’s presentation. 

This year, reserves are almost back up to the 140,000 acre-feet water mark. 

But while SCV Water’s local water supply is in better shape than in years past, sheer water quantity isn’t the full story, whether it’s local or state-provided water.  

The State Water Project – a water storage and delivery system made of canals, pipelines and reservoirs between Lake Oroville and Southern California managed by the state’s Department of Water Resources – allocates water to 29 public water agencies throughout California. 

That system was designed with the snowpack, or accumulated snow in elevated areas of the state over the winter months, acting as a natural reservoir of water, Fleury said. 

While rainfall might be meeting average levels in different areas of the state, the storms that bring that rain are getting warmer, meaning the state’s snowpack is experiencing runoff. In its third of four evaluations throughout the season, the DWR reported the statewide snowpack was at 66% of the average in late February. 

That water, which in years past would’ve stayed frozen until there was greater demand for it in the warmer months, is easily lost, Fleury said. Those conditions make it difficult to determine how much runoff and supply the state has.  

Combined with significant dry spells in the middle of winter, that’s made for more conservative water allocations from the SWP: so far this year, SCV Water is pegged to get 30% of its 95,000 acre-feet allocation, which is fairly low, she said. 

And while the Santa Clarita Valley’s water supply portfolio is diverse enough to insulate it from state-level water uncertainty, those conditions could mean trouble for agriculture water customers in the Central Valley, who need water regardless of drought or flooding conditions.  

“We’re seeing a lot more dry spells in the middle of winter when we should be getting our peak snow production,” Fleury said. “There’s just been a lot more gaps and change in how the snow and the precipitation is coming, which makes it difficult to predict how much supply and runoff we’re going to have.”  

The post SCV water supply off to a good start this year, but snowpack problems loom appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.