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San Antonio Creek Valley

Statistics

  • Basin Name
  • San Antonio Creek Valley
  • Basin Number
  • 3-014
  • SGMA Basin Priority
  • Medium
  • Critically Overdrafted
  • No
  • Hydrologic Region Name
  • Central Coast
  • Counties
  • Santa Barbara
  • Adjacent Basins

At-A-Glance

Located in California’s Central Coast hydrologic region, the San Antonio Creek Valley is 67,437 acres in size. This Medium priority basin is home to an estimated 2,168.00 people (2010 value). It has approximately 281 wells, of which approximately 9 are water supply wells. Groundwater accounts for approximately 97.60 percent of the basin’s water supply.

Source: CA DWR
Source: CA DWR

Basin Notes

2003: Bulletin 118 basin description

2014: CASGEM Basin Prioritization: High

2016: Revised basin boundary description

2018: Basin prioritization: Medium.Comments:

  • Groundwater withdrawals have resulted in measured water-level declines ranging from 35 to more than 100 feet since the 1950s.” Source: USGS 1) The cause of the westward water quality degradation has been thought to be the accumulation of lower quality water from agricultural return flow and the dissolution of soluble minerals (Hutchinson, 1980). The highest TDS concentration (3,780 mg/l) was found in the extreme western end of the Valley and westward of the Barka Slough; the lowest concentration (263 mg/l) was found at the extreme eastern end. Analyses compiled for samples taken between 1958 and 1978 indicate that groundwater quality remained fairly stable during that period. Analyses of water sampled in 1993 for several wells show only slight increases since the previous study. There is evidence that poor quality connate waters exist within fracture zones of the bedrock and that this water might be induced into overlying strata, especially west of Barka Slough. There is no evidence of seawater intrusion in the basin, nor is the basin considered susceptible to seawater intrusion due to the consolidated rock that separates the basin from the ocean. Source: Santa Barbara County Groundwater Report 2011 

2018 Final Basin Prioritization: Medium.

2022: January 21 – Groundwater Sustainability Plan (GSP) submitted to Department of Water Resources (DWR)

2024: January 18 – DWR approved GSP

GSA Information

Models