United Water seeks county backing for $314 million Santa Felicia dam safety project

United Water Conservation District on Tuesday outlined a $314 million safety overhaul of Santa Felicia (also called Santa Lucia in the presentation) Dam and Lake Piru Reservoir, saying the project is needed to protect downstream communities and county water supplies.

The district’s chief dam‑safety engineer, Marianne Broll, told the Ventura County Board of Supervisors the dam is now classified as an “extremely high hazard” facility by the state Division of Safety of Dams not because of visible structural failure but because of the severe consequences that would follow a failure. She said sedimentation has claimed roughly 20% of the reservoir’s storage, the outlet works would be vulnerable to a major seismic event and the existing spillway cannot pass the updated inflow design flood — currently modeled at 220,000 cubic feet per second.

"Santa Felicia Dam is now categorized as an extremely high hazard dam by the Department of Water Resources Division of Safety of Dams," Broll told the board. She described a two‑part plan: a new seismically stable outlet‑works tunnel and downstream control structure (including potential hydropower), and spillway improvements that would raise the dam crest and lower the chute to safely pass the revised design flood.

United Water’s presentation included inundation modeling that showed the hypothetical, worst‑case consequences would reach communities from Piru downstream across the Oxnard Plain and could expose more than 70,000 acres. The district said the project would reduce downstream flood impact by roughly 80% and lower estimated financial damages from about $16 billion to under $2 billion in its conservative scenario.

Mauricio Gordado, general manager of United Water, said the district has completed design for the new outlet works and is “shovel ready” for construction once funding is secured. Construction timelines presented would spread work across roughly nine years: about five years to build the outlet works and about four years for the spillway work.

United Water estimates the full program cost at about $314 million. The district has sought multiple state and federal grants and has requested a FEMA grant for the outlet works; that FEMA ask was roughly $17.4 million, roughly 8% of the outlet works portion, the presentation said. Gordado told the board the district expects to pursue additional state and federal funding and that it does not intend to pass the entire burden to local ratepayers.

Supervisors asked questions about timelines, community notification and the role of regional partners. The board voted unanimously to receive and file the staff report and to adopt the accompanying resolution of support for the project; the motion was moved by Supervisor Long and seconded by Supervisor Lopez.

What’s next: United Water said it will continue seeking grant funding and will return to partners and elected officials as proposals advance. The district asked county support letters — some of which had already been submitted for grant applications — and urged further regional collaboration on funding and emergency planning.