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
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
At-A-Glance
California Water Library Documents About This Basin
Simulated Effects of Future Water Availability and Protected Species Habitat in a Perennial Wetland, Santa Barbara County, California
Water (MDPI) | April 21st, 2025
This study evaluates the potential water availability in Barka Slough and the effects of changing hydrological conditions on the aquatic habitat of five protected species
Statement of Findings regarding the Approval of the San Antonio Creek Valley Basin Groundwater Sustainability Plan
California Department of Water Resources (DWR) | January 18th, 2024
The Department of Water Resources (Department) is required to evaluate whether a submitted groundwater sustainability plan (GSP or Plan) conforms to specific requirements
Linkages between land-use change and groundwater management foster long-term resilience of water supply in California
Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies (Elsevier) | March 9th, 2022
Study Region: We created a 270-m coupled model of land-use and groundwater conditions, LUCAS-W[ater], for California’s Central Coast. This groundwater-dependent region
San Antonio Creek Valley Groundwater Basin Groundwater Sustainability Plan
San Antonio Basin Groundwater Sustainability Agency | December 16th, 2021
The Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA), effective as of January of 2015, created a new statewide framework for managing California’s groundwater at the loca
Development and Calibration of a Two-Dimensional Digital Model for the Analysis of the Ground-Water Flow System in the San Antonio Creek Valley, Santa Barbara County, California
U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) | August 1st, 1985
Bulletin 118: California's Groundwater (1980)
California Department of Water Resources (DWR) | January 1st, 1980
Ground water management is a major issue in California. The Governor's Commission to Review California Water Rights Law, in its December 1978 report, recommends a new g