‘Game over’: The tiny Central Coast town of Cambria is about to run out of water – By Andrew Pridgen (SFGate) / June 6, 2022
Nestled along the Central Coast, Cambria is a picturesque town famous for its vintage clothing and antique shops, its one-of-a-kind olallieberry pies, its scarecrow festival in the fall and its Disneyesque Christmas market and light display in December. Located right off of Highway 1 and 73 miles south of Big Sur, it’s a popular stop for those driving on the Pacific Coast Highway.
Cambria has also been running out of water for nearly four decades and — like many spots along the Central Coast in San Luis Obispo County — it does not have a permanent solution in the offing. The unincorporated town of more than 5,000 people is dependent wholly on two creeks, the Santa Rosa and San Simeon, for its water supply. As climate change ramps up, those creeks are drying out more rapidly and more frequently.
Between May and October, the driest season, the creeks have run dangerously low as the state’s current drought takes its toll. In 2021, the town almost ran out of water, declaring a level four emergency (there are only five levels) and requesting that residents curb their water usage by 40%.
