How local water experts imported historic amounts of water in 2016

Despite the ongoing drought, local water experts managed to import more than 60,000 acre-feet of water from Northern California in 2016–the most since the State Water Project began importing into the San Bernardino area in 1972.

The imported water is directly delivered to customers in the region and stored as groundwater, according to San Bernardino Valley Municipal Water District Manager of Water Resources Bob Tincher.

The rest of the supply comes from rainfall, which makes up about 72 percent of the water resources.

In spite of a promising storm season, Tincher believes it is too soon to predict whether it will significantly help reduce drought concerns. In fact, Tincher said the Water District is about three years behind in capturing rainfall.

“So far it’s looking good,” Tincher said. “But because our weather is so feast or famine, it’s really hard to predict. We may have an [upward trend], but it just depends on the amount of rain we receive.”

California’s State Water Project was voted for by residents in 1960, according to the project’s official website. It serves 29 urban and agricultural water suppliers across the state–using 34 storage facilities, reservoirs and lakes, 20 pumping plants, 4 pumping-generating plants, 5 hydroelectric power plants, and about 701 miles of open canals and pipelines to serve 25 million people.

By importing 60,000 acre-feet from the State Water Project, Tincher affirmed that the Water District could provide enough water to sustain a quarter million San Bernardino Valley residents for one year. Without the project’s resource, the Water District would have experienced current water shortages a year ago.

“We would be twice as bad off if we didn’t have that 25-percent sliver,” said Tincher. “The goal is to bring all the water we get from the state project into this valley so it can help us get through droughts. This is a huge investment.”

Tincher also encouraged residents to continue to conserve water and monitor their water usage.

“We need to be mindful that water is a limited resource and that we need to use it wisely, particularly since we do not know how long the current drought will continue,” Tincher said.

The San Bernardino Valley Municipal Water District is comprised of the Bear Valley Mutual Water District, East Valley Water District, West Valley Water District, San Bernardino Municipal Water Department, Western Heights Mutual Water Company, and the Yucaipa Valley Water District.