The San Gorgonio Pass Water Agency (SGPWA) receives an annual allotment (Table A amount) of up to up to 17,300 acre-feet from the State Water Project (SWP). The Agency has procured additional water sources to support regional resilience, as identified below.
State Water Project
As a State Water Contractor, SGPWA receives an annual allocation of imported water from the SWP. The 2024 allocation is 40 percent of Table A water, which refers to the maximum available SWP water a contractor can receive in a year excluding certain “interruptible” deliveries. The 40 percent allocation accounts for an above-average water year, when statewide snowpack levels on April 1 reached 110 percent of the historical average and average precipitation was 107 percent.
SGPWA balances its Table A allocation with a water transfer agreement with the City of Ventura and any carryover SWP water. As of August 2024, the Agency’s water portfolio included:
- SWP – Carryover – 8,650 acre-feet
- SWP – Carryover Ventura – 4,178 acre-feet
- SWP – Table A – 6,920 acre-feet
- SWP – Ventura – 4,000 acre-feet
- Non-SWP – Nickel Water – 1,700 acre-feet
- Westside Transfer – (6,000 acre-feet transferred)
Total Supply 19,448 acre-feet
Yuba Water
The Agency is a signatory to the Yuba Accord, an agreement among many water districts in California and the Department of Water Resources (DWR) that enables the signatories to use additional supplies from Yuba County in most years. The Agency receives an average of 200 to 300 acre-feet per year from this source, enough water for 400 to 600 families.
San Bernardino Valley MWD Water
The Agency has signed an agreement with the San Bernardino Valley Municipal Water District to obtain up to 5,000 acre-feet of additional supplies during years when the District declares a surplus. This would typically be in a wet year. This source allows the Agency to import and store more water in wet years, when it is available and cheaper, to prepare for drought years. This agreement underscores the importance of water storage to the region.
Nickel Water
The Agency, concerned about the decreasing reliability of the SWP, contracted for a new supply in 2017 after five consecutive years of drought. This is a 20-year supply of 100 percent reliable water from the Antelope Valley-East Kern Water Agency (AVEK). Its original source is a riparian right to Kern River water from Nickel Farms LLC.
Since it originates south of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, it is 100 percent reliable. This water supply is 1,700 acre-feet per year, enough water for approximately 3,400 families annually. The Agency has leased this water through 2036, with an option to extend the lease beyond that if desired. This additional source has provided the Agency an opportunity to import more water over the past few years, and consequently to bank more water in the local groundwater basin in preparation for the next drought.
City of Ventura Water Transfer
In December 2022, SGPWA finalized an agreement with the City of Ventura that will increase the Agency’s SWP water to up to 27,300 acre-feet per year for the next 20 years. The water is imported via the East Branch Extension.
