WATER AGENCIES TOLD TO PLAN AHEAD

SANTA CLARITA - The state Department of Water Resources isencouraging water agencies to develop plans for future sources asthe State Water Project's allocations near the maximum, officialssaid Tuesday.

In a draft of the State Water Project Delivery ReliabilityReport, the state will only increase allocations to contractors,such as the Castaic Lake Water Agency, a few percent during the next20 years, officials said. While the agencies will be able to rely onthe same amount of water as they do today, the program will not keepup with the demands of growth.

"We are very close to our maximum demand right now," saidKatherine Kelly, chief of the State Water Project planningdepartment.

By using a computer model and 73 years of data, the stateconcluded that the State Water Project, using existing facilitiesand operated under current regulations, can deliver 70 percent to 75percent of the primary contractual supply now and in the future, thereport said. During dry years, deliveries are projected to besignificantly lower. For example, in conditions similar to 1977, thedeliveries are projected to be about 20 percent.

The report does not correlate the past year - the driest in LosAngeles history - into the report, officials said. They are workingon updating the study, which will be done every few years.

For the CLWA, this report helps it plan its future and implementnew programs that are already in the works.

The CLWA is entitled to 95,200 acre-feet per year from the StateWater Project, which includes 41,000 acre-feet that is beingchallenged by environmentalists. This year, CLWA received 70 percentof its allocation.

To accommodate growth in the Santa Clarita Valley during the next20 years, the agency is reviewing when the demand for more waterwill be needed and where that water will come from.

The water wholesaler is looking at groundwater banking, recycledwater and water conservation, as well as the possibility ofdesalination of seawater, said Dan Masnada, CLWA general manager.

"The one thing we need to make sure is that water is coming outof the tap," he said. "That's our No. 1 concern."

The report is available on the Internet atswpdelivery.water.ca.gov. The public has until Nov. 1 to submitwritten comments regarding the report to the Department of WaterResources, Attention: State Water Project Delivery ReliabilityReport, PO Box 942836, Sacramento, CA 94236-001.