The City of Santa Barbara experienced the driest year in more than a century this past year. Only 5.97 inches of rain fell at El Estero Wastewater Treatment Plant, the smallest amount since 1898, when 4.57 inches fell. Lake Cachuma, the primary source of water for the city and other South Coast jurisdictions, is still 80 percent full thanks to above average rainfall in previous years, and provides at least five years of water storage.
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