The Cachuma Operation And Maintenance Board

What The Cachuma Operation And Maintenance Board does

The Cachuma Operation and Maintenance Board (COMB) is a California Joint Powers Agency formed in 1956 to operate and maintain the water diversion, transmission, and distribution infrastructure associated with the federal Cachuma Project on the Santa Ynez River. COMB's primary physical asset is the South Coast Conduit, a 26-mile pipeline system that conveys water from Lake Cachuma to member agencies across southern Santa Barbara County, including the Goleta Water District, the City of Santa Barbara, the Carpinteria Valley Water District, and the Montecito Water District. Title to the underlying infrastructure is held by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, with COMB operating it under a long-standing federal partnership.

The agency is structured around four divisions — Operations, Engineering, Fisheries, and Administration — and runs a small staff (1–10 employees) supported by member-agency assessments. Its technology stack comprises SCADA for real-time monitoring of flow and pressure, GIS for spatial asset management, GPS for field operations, and conventional water quality monitoring instrumentation. COMB is subject to federal regulatory oversight, most notably the NMFS Biological Opinion governing fisheries protection and downstream habitat flows, which drives a substantial portion of its environmental program work (fisheries technology, oak tree restoration, stream and fish habitat restoration).

COMB's business model is that of a non-profit public agency: it does not earn revenue in a commercial sense but is funded through member assessments calibrated to recover operating, maintenance, and capital improvement costs. Its strategic posture is primarily defensive and compliance-driven — renewing aging infrastructure, meeting biological opinion obligations, and coordinating regional water management — rather than growth-oriented.

Name

The Cachuma Operation And Maintenance Board

Legal name

The Cachuma Operation and Maintenance Board

Website

https://cachuma-board.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1956

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Cachuma Operation and Maintenance Board is a California Joint Powers Agency that operates and maintains water conveyance infrastructure delivering Lake Cachuma water to member agencies across southern Santa Barbara County, including Goleta, Santa Barbara, Carpinteria Valley, and Montecito.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Water Utility Services

NAICS

Water Supply and Irrigation Systems (221310)

SIC

Water Supply (4941)

akta.pro primary industry

Raw Water Conveyance & Transmission (Aqueducts, Mains, Pumping Stations) (EUANAAAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Storage & Conveyance Structures (Reservoirs, Tanks, Culverts, Tunnels) (IMAFAGAE), Water & Wastewater Pipeline Construction (Mains, Force Mains, Interceptors) (IMAFAGAC)

Keywords

• Water utility services
• Water infrastructure management
• Water transmission services
• Fisheries habitat management
• Special district operations

Headquarters

HQ city

Santa Barbara

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Others

Core offering

The Cachuma Operation and Maintenance Board (COMB) operates and maintains the Cachuma Project water infrastructure including Lake Cachuma, the Tecolote Tunnel, and the 26-mile South Coast Conduit pipeline, diverting and delivering water from the Santa Ynez River watershed to municipal member agencies across South Coast Santa Barbara County. It also manages fisheries habitat along the Lower Santa Ynez River and provides engineering, planning, and administrative services for water infrastructure improvement programs.

Product overview

The Cachuma Operation and Maintenance Board (COMB) is a California Joint Powers Agency (JPA) formed in 1956 that operates as a municipal water utility. Rather than a unified software product, COMB's offering consists of four core operational divisions: Operations Division (water diversion through Tecolote Tunnel and South Coast Conduit pipeline maintenance), Engineering Division (infrastructure improvement planning and construction management), Fisheries Division (fish habitat management using GIS/GPS technology), and Administration Division (financial and HR management). Supporting programs include the Infrastructure Improvement Program, Integrated Regional Water Management Plan, Fish Management Plan compliance, Stream and Fish Habitat Restoration Projects, Oak Tree Restoration Program, and a Land Use Authorization process for pipeline easements. The organization also employs SCADA and GIS/GPS technologies for infrastructure monitoring and environmental data collection.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Operations Division Services Diversion of water to the South Coast through the Tecolote Tunnel, and operation and maintenance of the South Coast Conduit pipeline, flow control valves, meters, and instrumentation at control stations and turnouts along the South Coast Conduit and at four regulating reservoirs. Serves South Coast member agencies in Santa Barbara County.
• Engineering Division Services Designing, planning, budgeting, scheduling, and construction management of COMB's Infrastructure Improvement Program and Habitat Improvement Programs. Works with Operations and Fisheries Division Managers on data gathering and project execution. Serves member agencies and regulatory stakeholders.
• Fisheries Division Services Manages fish habitat along the Santa Ynez River, combining fish biology concepts with technology to support, preserve, and enhance fish habitat. Activities include trapping, measuring, snorkeling, and observing fish populations. Serves environmental compliance and regulatory obligations.
• Administration Division Services Manages financial accounting, budgeting, information technology, contract administration, payroll, and human resources activities of COMB. Internal business support function for the agency.
• SCADA and GIS/GPS Services Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems combined with Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Global Positioning System (GPS) technology for water infrastructure monitoring and management. Used for real-time monitoring of water transmission facilities and environmental data collection along the Santa Ynez River watershed.
• Infrastructure Improvement Program Formalizes the strategy for implementation of capital projects and programs needed to carry out the goals and policy objectives of the Board. Guides long-term capital investment in water conveyance infrastructure.
• NMFS Biological Opinion and Fish Management Plan Compliance Compliance program implementing the National Marine Fisheries Service Biological Opinion and Fish Management Plan for the Lower Santa Ynez River. Ensures regulatory compliance with federal fisheries requirements.
• Stream and Fish Habitat Restoration Projects Projects focused on restoring stream and fish habitat along the Santa Ynez River watershed. Environmental restoration services supporting steelhead trout habitat.
• Lake Cachuma Oak Tree Restoration Program Program dedicated to restoring oak trees in the Lake Cachuma area. Environmental stewardship initiative.
• Land Use Authorization (LUA) Process Process for all development activity proposed inside any land held in easement or in fee to ensure protection of, and access to, the South Coast Conduit pipeline. Regulatory approval service for development near pipeline infrastructure.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature7 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• US Bureau of ReclamationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 1956COMB was formed in 1956 as a California Joint Powers Agency pursuant to an agreement with the US Bureau of Reclamation. The agreement transferred operation and maintenance responsibilities for the Cachuma Project infrastructure, including Lake Cachuma, Bradbury Dam, Tecolote Tunnel, and the South Coast Conduit pipeline to COMB. The Bureau of Reclamation still operates and maintains Bradbury Dam itself.

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• San Diego County Water Authority: Wholesale water agency supplying San Diego County via imported conveyance. Useful as a scaled incumbent peer for benchmarking regional water authority governance, infrastructure planning, and member-agency cost allocation models.
• Imperial Irrigation District: One of the largest Bureau of Reclamation contractors in California, delivering Colorado River water across Imperial Valley. Relevant incumbent peer for comparison on federal water contracting, large-scale conveyance O&M, and on-farm and municipal water delivery economics.
• Metropolitan Water District of Southern California: The regional wholesale water supplier for much of Southern California, operating major conveyance and treatment infrastructure. A broad incumbent that competes for skilled water-sector talent and sets supply and rate benchmarks that indirectly shape COMB's environment.

Direct peers

• Goleta Water District: One of COMB's four South Coast member agencies and a retail water utility serving the Goleta Valley. As both a customer and fellow special district, it shares regulatory exposure, water supply dependency on Cachuma, and ratepayer dynamics with COMB.
• Montecito Water District: Retail water district serving Montecito and a COMB member agency on the South Coast Conduit. Compares directly to COMB on the customer side and shares drought-management and infrastructure planning challenges tied to Lake Cachuma supply.
• Central Coast Water Authority: A California Joint Powers Authority that wholesales State Water Project water to Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo County agencies, including several of COMB's member agencies. It is the closest functional peer — a small JPA operating regional conveyance infrastructure on behalf of municipal water agencies.
• Carpinteria Valley Water District: A retail water district in the Carpinteria Valley that is a COMB member agency receiving water through the South Coast Conduit. Operates under similar California special district governance and shares Cachuma supply dependency with COMB.
• Santa Ynez River Water Conservation District, Improvement District #1: Manages groundwater and surface water resources in the Santa Ynez River valley upstream of COMB's facilities. It shares the same watershed, member-agency base, and operational interest in Cachuma Project yield, making it a direct peer on the supply-side.

Regional players

• Ventura County Watershed Protection District: Manages watershed, flood control, and water resources infrastructure across Ventura County. Comparable to COMB's engineering and habitat functions, particularly around integrated regional water management planning.
• Casitas Municipal Water District: Ventura County water district operating Lake Casitas and a regional distribution system. Compares to COMB as a small-to-mid-size Southern California special district operating a single reservoir-and-pipeline system with fisheries and recreational obligations.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Cachuma Operation And Maintenance Board