Desal- Even with Conservation
Our Customers are Doing a Great Job at
Conserving
Water conservation is the
cornerstone of the SCWD and SqCWD diversified water
portfolios. It’s a matter of pride that, on average, our customers
use less water than most California residents and
businesses. For years, our customers have been actively and
measurably conserving water.

Conservation
Doesn't "Close the Gap"
But doing a
good job of conserving our existing water resources does not
eliminate the need for new water supplies. Our Integrated Water
Plans incorporate our robust conservation programs and help make the
water shortage gap smaller- but do not eliminate it.
The Bottom Line
Both agencies will
continue to evaluate and implement new water saving programs and
encourage the use of more water efficient technologies and devices
that will stretch our existing water supplies and reduce the amount
of supplemental supply that is required.
The bottom line
is we can’t sustain the local economy, environmental values, quality
of life, and health and safety without supplementing our surface and
ground water resources.
Did you know?
- Conservation Programs: The
City and District currently offer numerous conservation rebates
and incentives to their customers that include, but aren’t
limited to, free on-site water surveys, rebates/incentives for
toilets, urinals, front-load washers,
and rain barrels and cisterns.
For a complete list of incentives, click
here (City information is organized by residential,
commercial, and landscape) and
here
(for District information). Both
agencies also offer a suite of free conservation items such as
showerheads, faucet aerators, garden shut-off nozzles, shower
timers, and garden hose timers.
- The Integrated Water Plans include Conservation,
Curtailment and a Supplemental Supply: Both Agencies
have been evaluating a supplemental supply for over 20+ years
and desalination was selected as the preferred option to
continue evaluating. The Integrated Water Plans include
conservation, curtailment and desalination. For more
information, click
here.
- Santa Cruz is in need of a supplemental source of water:
to meet water needs during drought conditions as well as to
protect threatened and endangered species. For more
information, click
here.