Protecting our Groundwater Resources for Current and Future Residents and a Sustainable Future

The water supply in the Santa Clarita Valley comes mainly from two sources, the Sacramenta Delta and our local ground water from the Santa Clara River and the deeper Saugus Aquifer (an aquifer is a body of rock and/or sediment that holds groundwater). The mix of supply depends a lot on weather. If the SCV is experiencing a dry year, we may depend more on water from the Delta. If there is a snow drought in the Sierras (the source of water to the Sacramento River), then we may use more water from our local sources.
But what we use from either of these sources has impacts on the environment and the viability of our water resources. We know our current usage is already causing the ground to sink in some areas and creeks to run so low that fish may not be able to survive in others. It is obvious that water is a finite resource and must be utilized carefully to ensure its future availability.
How can we ensure that we use water wisely and have enough for everyone?

  • Protect our ground water resources. The Agency must speak up during the planning process to make sure decision makers understand the important of these areas to our future water supply.
  • Use permeable pavement to allow water to sink back into our groundwater resources
  • Landscape with native plants. About 70% of our water supply is used outside the house, Landscaping with native plants could cut this usage to 30% and provide food for birds and bees as well. The Agency should do more to encourage and educate of the benefits of using natives.
  • Accurate water supply reporting. The agency must be careful not to overstate our water supplies. It must be realistic about global warming and the probably increased droughts that may result from this situation in the future. Poor planning now will hurt us all in the future.
  • The Agency must be transparent about the water supply issues it may face in the future so that these problems can be addressed before they become an emergency.

Water Quality

The Santa Clarita Valley has some serious water pollution problems.  Part is due to the old Whittaker Bermite manufacturing site which produced rocket propellants and explosives. They didn’t manage their chemicals properly which resulted in our ground water aquifers being contaminated with ammonium perchlorate and volatile organic compounds such as TCE and PCE. Ammonium perchlorate affects the thyroid gland; VOCs cause cancer. Wells were shut down when limits exceeded health standards and could only be brought back on line after expensive well-head treatment facilities were installed that removes the contaminants before they entered our drinking water system. This process is expensive, with the initial facilities costing millions and the on-going maintenance and operations hundreds of thousands more every year. While the Agency filed suit against the polluter and won a large judgement, the funding may still not cover all the on-going expenses.


Additionally, PFAS, the Teflon “forever” chemical manufactured by Dupont that you may have heard about from the movie “Dark Waters”, was discovered in our water supply in 2019.  This family of chemicals is used as waterproofing and is found in many products from Teflon to Scotch guard on carpets and even food wrappers. It is also a chemical in fire foam, which could be the source of pollution in our valley. PFAS are shown to have significant health impacts, affecting our immune systems and can cause cancer. Again, wells had to be shut down until treatment facilities could be installed. Millions were spent to build these treatment facilities and millions more will be spent on operations and maintenance. This contamination is affecting communities across the nation. Some federal funding is available to address the issue, but doesn’t cover the enormous cost of clean-up. 


I support all legal efforts to force polluters to pay for cleaning up the pollution they caused.


The Agency must continue to pursue federal and state funding to help address this issue and lower the cost to local rate payers. Contaminated water should not be reported as available until clean up facilities are in place. The public must be kept informed about the contamination issues in their water supply and the public health issues these pollutants may cause. When contamination is discovered, wells should be turned off immediately to protect public health until the problem can be resolved.