Santa Felicia Dam Constructed 1954 – 1955.

As a result of the recent storms in January and February, United Water Conservation District has successfully harvested 18,000 acre-feet of water—enough to serve 72,000 households in Ventura County for a year.

United Water’s Lake Piru rose 24-feet over the last two months and is now 30% full. According to water experts at United Water, this is double the amount of water that was previously in the lake.

United Water Conservation District collects stormwater in Lake Piru and strategically releases it into the Santa Clara River and diverts it at the Freeman Diversion facility where it is used to replenish underground aquifers and to deliver surface water.

The storms of 2019 have been good for Ventura County. According to United Water Conservation District, the first two months of rain have provided 10% of the needed water volume for complete drought recovery within Ventura County.

But officials caution that Ventura County is still not out of the drought. In fact, it would take 10 more storm events like the ones that occurred during the first two months of 2019 for Ventura County to be out of the drought all-together.

“January and February storms have allowed United Water to harvest 18,000 acre- feet of water, which were collected in Lake Piru and diverted to our Freeman Diversion Facility,” explains Mauricio Guardado, General Manager for United Water Conservation District. “And while this is more rain than we have seen in a long while, we would need 180,000 acre-feet more water to be completely out of the drought,” he continued.

United Water Conservation District: Who we are, what we do and why it matters:
Since 1927 United Water Conservation District has served as a leader among water agencies by managing, protecting, enhancing and securing the water resources of the Santa Clara River and Oxnard Coastal Plain. The District works to protect the environment’s natural attributes and conserves runoff from all major tributaries of the Santa Clara River including Piru, Hopper, Sespe and Santa Paula Creeks.

United Water Conservation District is committed to managing the area’s water supplies through groundwater replenishment and construction and operation of efficient water supply and delivery systems. The District serves as the conservator of groundwater resources that are utilized by the cities of Oxnard, Port Hueneme, Ventura, Santa Paula and Fillmore, as well as several mutual water districts, farms and individual pumpers. United Water also provides surface water for agricultural irrigation and treated drinking water to the cities of Oxnard and Port Hueneme.