With the release of its most recent Sustainability Plan Progress Report, the Goleta Water District marks the 10th anniversary of the plan’s adoption and celebrates ten years of progress. Originally adopted by the Board of Directors in June 2012, the Sustainability Plan is updated annually to recap how District initiatives, activities, and operations produce results that contribute economic, environmental, and social benefits supporting sustainable water service delivery. At the time, the District was one of the first agencies in California of its size to adopt a Sustainability Plan.
District Board President Kathleen Werner said, “We are thrilled to mark the Tenth Anniversary of the Sustainability Plan. This report provides an important overview of recent accomplishments, but also reflects on the progress made to date and the promise of what is to come. Some of the projects envisioned ten years ago, such as the alternative energy projects, have long been a goal of the District and we have seen significant progress over the past year. It speaks to the District’s efforts to provide lifeline essential water service while planning for the future.”
The 2022 Sustainability Plan Progress Report reflects on progress made since the plan’s inception as well as the projects completed over the last year. To mark the 10th Anniversary, three unique features were created for this year’s progress report, including: a visual timeline of District efforts year-by-year; a feature on the significant conservation achievements of the last decade showcasing how water use has continued to decline; and an overview of the various unforeseen challenges that have arisen since the adoption of the first Sustainability Plan, such as the COVID-19 Pandemic, the historic drought and changing water quality conditions at Lake Cachuma resulting from fires in the watershed.
Even with the significant supply chain disruptions and inflation witnessed recently, the District completed a number of important projects. Examples include advancing a Net Zero Initiative that aims to produce enough clean energy to offset the District’s annual electricity usage, the transition to district elections, and enrollment in the State’s Low Income Household Water Assistance Program to help qualifying residential customers manage their utility costs.
The Goleta Water District provides water to a diverse population of approximately 89,000 in the Goleta Valley area, including residential, agricultural, commercial, industrial, and institutional customers. The District’s water system includes over 270 miles of pipelines, a water treatment plant, storage reservoirs, pumping facilities, active wells, the recycled water system, and connections with Lake Cachuma and the State Water Project.
