This column was contributed by Jennifer Cosio Arellano, water conservation program manager with the Water Resources Association San Benito County. The opinions expressed do not necessarily represent BenitoLink or other affiliated contributors. Lea este artículo en español aquí.

The San Benito County Water District (District) is in the process of implementing the
Accelerated Drought Response Project, or ADRoP, to protect the urban areas of San
Benito County from future droughts. ADRoP is a water storage project that will allow
the District to store excess wet-year water supplies in the local groundwater basin and
recover those supplies when conditions are extremely dry. The project will improve
water supply reliability and reduce the need for severe water use reductions by the
District’s municipal customers during extended droughts.

Much of the water available to the District is acquired through its contract with the U.S.
Bureau of Reclamation for water supplies from San Luis Reservoir, which is part of the
federal Central Valley Project. These supplies vary greatly year to year due to
California’s variable hydrologic conditions and because of increasingly stringent
environmental protections for the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta ecosystem. As a
result, the District often has surplus water in wet years but insufficient water in dry
years. ADRoP will help make best use of the District’s imported water by storing it
locally and saving it for when it is needed most.

The ADRoP project will include an expansion of the West Hills Water Treatment Plant,
the construction of up to 5 aquifer storage and recovery wells (ASR), and associated
water transmission pipelines. The project is estimated to cost approximately $55
million. However, the District has secured $20 million in grant funding from the State
and Federal governments, which will help limit water rate impacts to its customers.
Construction for ADRoP began in May of 2025 and is anticipated to take approximately
18 months to complete.

The District will be holding a series of public outreach meetings to keep the community
informed on the progress of ADRoP. The next meeting is scheduled for 5 p.m. on July
2, 2025, at the Community Foundation for San Benito County Epicenter at 440 San
Benito Street, San Andreas Room, in Hollister.