Water problems in small town California: Cambria

Drought and lack of water are problems facing many communities in California in an ever pressing manner. As a small town California native this problem was one I was made acutely aware of growing up. I am from Cambria California, and quite proud. I love my little home town. Cambria is located on Highway 1 in a particularly sparsely populated stretch, somewhere maybe half way between San Fransisco and los Angeles. 

In Cambria there is an enormous amount of water , just none that has any use but to look at (the Pacific Ocean). The little fresh water the town manages to extract from the ground comes by way of wells connected to Santa Rosa Creek and San Simeon creek, two creeks that have been known to do a vanishing act during the summer months.

As far back as I can remember it has been nearly impossible for someone to build a house in the town. One cannot build on a lot without a water meter being issued. From a quick look around on the internet one can find people complaining that they have been on waiting lists for water meters for 14 years or more with nothing promising on the horizon. The CCSD https://www.cambriacsd.org/, which is the government organization that handles legislation surrounding water in area, is basically the defecto government of Cambria as all decisions are viewed through the lens of their impact on the water supply. 

A few years back, during a particularly dry winter in Calfornia, the towns aquifer became dangerously low causing the town to ban the watering of gardens with city water. Now residents who wish to have a garden must have water from a non potable source trucked to their residence. As far as I can tell washing one's car is still off the table. 

The town has proposed desalinization several times in the past but has always had problems moving forward to concerns surrounding the environmental impact and the high cost it would bring to the residents of the town. Now there is a brackish water recovery center but it still has not solved the water scarcity problem, and this new center came with a cost. High cost surrounding water is a condition that the residents are used to. With cost being 27.50 for a base charge + 8.6 per unit + a base charge for brackish water of $13 + $2.62 a unit with a penalty if the household exceeds 16 units per month. During stage 3 the legislation states that the penalty will be 500%. As housing is so expensive some of the families that work the hotels and other service industry jobs live multiple families in a single house, which I imagine makes 16 units not seem like much.

None of this lack of water seems to have slowed the expansion of a tourist industry in the town. The town boasts an increasing number of tourists coming and going from the many hotels, which needless to say stresses the water supply. Some long term residents complain that the chamber of commerce is dooming the town by being so effective at promoting tourism.

One wonders what the future of Cambria and towns like it will be. In 2010 the census revealed that there has been a population decline perhaps in relation to the median house price being now upwards of 600,000. The Cambria of my childhood had lots of young families and a lively small town feeling. Without the ability to expand, families will likely be entirely priced out and all that will be left will be hotels, rental houses and wealthy retirees to fight over water.

For more information: https://www.cambriacsd.org/

By Bode Smith