Water Vision Santa Barbara
Planning and Adapting for Santa Barbara’s Water Future
May 15, 2026
Notice is hereby given that the City Council of the City of Santa Barbara will conduct a Public Hearing on Tuesday, June 16, 2026 during the afternoon session of the meeting which begins at 2:00 p.m. in the Council Chamber, City Hall, 735 Anacapa Street, Santa Barbara. You are invited to attend this hearing and address your verbal comments to the City Council. Written comments are also welcome up to the time of the hearing, and should be addressed to the City Council via the City Clerk’s Office via email at Clerk@SantaBarbaraCA.gov, or by mail at P.O. Box 1990, Santa Barbara, CA 93102‑1990.
The hearing is to consider the adoption of the City of Santa Barbara 2025 Urban Water Management Plan (UWMP) and 2025 Water Shortage Contingency Plan (WSCP), available here:
The City’s 2025 UWMP and WSCP have been prepared pursuant to the requirements of the California Water Code (CWC), §10631. An UWMP is a State-mandated report that generally summarizes the actions of water management agencies, with a planning horizon of 25 years. The 2025 UWMP fulfills CWC requirements, mandating certain reporting obligations, including specific water conservation targets. The 2025 UWMP demonstrates the City of Santa Barbara’s long-term water supply and demand balance through 2050 under normal, single-year, and multi-year drought conditions. The WSCP establishes a plan for responding to water shortages caused by drought conditions and/or a catastrophic water supply emergency.
The City’s guiding water supply planning and policy document is the Long-Term Water Supply Plan (LTWSP), which was updated in 2021 along with the 2020 UWMP. Together these documents are known as the 2020 Enhanced Urban Water Management Plan (EUWMP). This 2025 UWMP is an update to the 2020 Enhanced UWMP, addressing new requirements and regulations while aligning with the City’s LTWSP. The EUWMP details the City’s water supply and management strategy for the next 30 years and includes an Adaptive Management Plan for flexible and responsive management of the City's water resources moving forward in an uncertain future.
The EUWMP sets a the vision for a water future that is:
- RESILIENT to evolving risks and challenges.
- DIVERSE to provide ample reliability in uncertain times.
- AFFORDABLE to ensure equitable access to safe drinking water for our community.
- ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY to protect our waterways, wildlife and ecosystems.
- FORWARD-THINKING with cost-effective operations and adaptable technology.