Inland Empire Water Agencies Import Record Amount of Water

SAN BERNARDINO >>Even though last winter’s rainfall and snowfall failed to wipe out California’s ongoing drought, Inland Empire water agencies still managed to import more water for both direct delivery and groundwater storage in 2016 than any year since State Water Project water first arrived in San Bernardino in 1972, according to the San Bernardino Valley Municipal Water District. “This is a significant accomplishment, especially considering that we are heading into our 19th year of drought, locally,” said Bob Tincher, manager of water resources for San Bernardino Valley Municipal Water District. When the state Department of Water Resources announced that it could deliver agencies up to 60 percent of their contracted amounts, retail water agencies within Valley District purchased as much water as they could from the State Water Project. “We ended up utilizing our full allocation, which was almost 67,000 acre feet of water,” Tincher said. “That’s enough water to sustain over a quarter of a million people for one year.” Tincher said the water has been mostly delivered over the past 11 months, with the balance expected to percolate into the ground before the end of this year. “One of our primary strategies is to purchase as much water as we can when it’s available, in wet years, to help carry us through drought years. So, by purchasing as much water as we could in 2016, we are in better shape as we head into 2017,” Tincher said. Inland Empire agencies that purchased State Water Project water this year include Bear Valley Mutual Water Company in Redlands; East Valley Water District in Highland; West Valley Water District in Rialto; San Bernardino Municipal Water Department; Western Heights Mutual Water Company in Yucaipa; Yucaipa Valley Water District; and the cities of Loma Linda, Redlands and Rialto. Despite water agencies’ success in importing a record amount of State Water Project this year, Tincher said it’s important for Inland Empire residents to continue to conserve water. “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.