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The state Supreme Court Wednesday refused to intervene in an ongoing rate dispute between the San Diego County Water Authority and Metropolitan Water District, leaving in place an appellate decision that gives both sides a partial victory. The Water Authority has sued the MWD, the primary water wholesaler in California, multiple times over costs, which are ultimately absorbed by San Diego County consumers. The California Supreme Court’s decision not to review an appellate court ruling was in one of three lawsuits.

Today the California Supreme Court denied a request by the San Diego County Water Authority (CWA) to reverse a Court of Appeals decision in June that allows the Metropolitan Water District (MWD) to include its State Water Project costs in rates it charges to transport CWA’s independent Colorado River supplies through MWD’s pipeline and aqueduct.

The nation’s largest municipal water provider attempted to illegally divert water toward Southern California cities by buying up and throttling water use on thousands of acres of farmland, according to a lawsuit filed last week in Riverside County Superior Court. The suit was brought by the Palo Verde Irrigation District, which serves parts of Imperial County and Riverside County. It accuses the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California of violating a 2004 agreement that paid farmers not to grow crops on their land, freeing up water for thirsty coastal cities serviced by Metropolitan.

A proposal to build giant water tunnels under the Sacramento/San Joaquin Delta suffered a setback last week when a key partner that was expected to help fund a big slice of the $17 billion project voted to pull out. That leaves the Metropolitan Water District — which supplies imported water for 19 million Southern Californians — to decide whether it should fund its $4 billion share of the project known as the California Water Fix.

In the next couple weeks, we’ll likely know if California water agencies will bite the bullet and spend $17 billion to shore up the water system that brings water south from the rivers of Northern California. The project involves the construction of two 35-mile underground tunnels to keep water coming south through the Sacramento-San Joaquin Bay Delta.