Despite drought, Santa Barbara County water supplies adequate for short term
Having received just 48% of normal rainfall for the water year, which began Sept. 1 and will end Aug. 31, Santa Barbara County may be experiencing a bit of déjà vu, having been placed in the “severe drought” category again by the U.S. Drought Monitor. But despite a winter that brought less than half the normal rainfall, the county’s water supply is generally in good shape, and able to provide enough for drinking, firefighting and irrigation in the short term, city and county officials said.