Cachuma Project

Facilities -

Bradbury Dam

Bradbury Dam was originally named Cachuma Dam. The name was changed in 1971 to honor local water proponent Brad Bradbury. It is located on the Santa Ynez River about 25 miles northwest of Santa Barbara. It is a zoned earthfill structure, containing 6,695,000 cubic yards of material. It is 279 feet high from the bottom of the cutoff trench to the top of the dam and 206 feet above the streambed. The spillway section is concrete-lined, with four 50-by-30-foot radial gates, and has a capacity of 161,000 cubic feet per second.

Lake Cachuma has a capacity of about 188,000 acre-feet. The lake covers 3250 acres when full and has a 42-mile shoreline.

Tecolote Tunnel

Tecolote Tunnel extends 6.4 miles through the Santa Ynez Mountains from Lake Cachuma to the headworks of the South Coast Conduit. The horseshoe-shaped tunnel is 7 feet in diameter and has a capacity of 100 cubic feet per second.

The concrete-lined tunnel contains the controlled outlet works. The special outlet works apparatus allows for the protection and recognition of downstream water rights by continuing the uninterrupted delivery of Santa Ynez water.

South Coast Conduit

The South Coast Conduit conveys Santa Ynez River water from the Tecolote Tunnel to the South Coast water districts. It is a high-pressure concrete pipeline. The conduit extends 26 miles from the Tecolote Tunnel outlet across the steep canyons, rolling hills, and developed residential areas of the South Coast. It stretches to the Carpinteria Reservoir in the heart of the Carpinteria Valley Water District's service area. The conduit includes four regulating reservoirs.

Reservoirs and Distribution Systems

The Lauro (Santa Barbara), Ortega (Summerland), and Carpinteria Regulating Reservoirs were constructed along and integrated with the South Coast Conduit to gravitate or "float along the line."

In addition, Glen Anne Dam and Reservoir stored water from the South Coast Conduit for use in Goleta. Glen Anne Reservoir has been under storage restriction since 2002 due to seismic safety concerns.