The District’s conjunctive use project maximizes the use of available surface water. In wetter years available supplies are first provided to meet as much overlying demand as possible (essentially all Class 1 and the majority of Class 2) with remaining supplies recharged to the groundwater basin. In drier years, the District and District landowners use their respective wells to recover previously recharged supplies to meet overlying demands.
The District recovers its costs to operate its conjunctive use project through two primary means: “base service charges” that are assessed on a per acre basis and tied to the District’s “fixed” operational costs; “water tolls” that relate to the District’s variable costs to supply water and are charged based on metered water use.