The Cater Plant is 10 years older than Corona Del Mar, slightly larger in capacity and serves approximately 45,000 more residents. It was completed in 1964 and supplies potable water to about 120,000 residents within the city of Santa Barbara, Montecito, Summerland and Carpinteria. The plant is very accessible via Foothill Road. They consist of one Superintendent, one Treatment Supervisor, one Chief Operator, two Water Treatment Operator Specialists, one Senior Office Specialist and 10 Grade 3 Operators. Cater has a policy of having qualified personnel on duty 24 hours a day.
Operators now learn maintenance skills and maintenance personnel learn how to do operations.
It can even operate at a zero net income level because future capital improvement is financially covered by depreciation reserves, although because of inflation, positive net income is required to feed a reserve fund for capital improvements. Its depreciation rate has an overall 4.4 percent depreciation rate, implying a 23 year service life for its properties. This service life is reasonable, considering that most GWD property is in pipe mains, tank structures, etc. The 1999 - 2000 Grand Jury investigated a list of complaints concerning the Goleta Water District. The Grand Jury was also made aware of an acute shortage of staff at the Corona Del Mar Water Treatment Plant.