The Fallbrook Public Utility District will be funding some of its Capital Improvement Program expenses with revenue bonds. A 5-0 FPUD board vote Jan. 22 authorized the issuance of the 2024 Water Revenue Bonds, approved the form of the financing documents, and authorized FPUD staff to finalize and execute the financing documents.
The San Diego County Water Authority has agreed to a settlement with the Rainbow Municipal Water District (RMWD) and Fallbrook Public Utility District (FPUD), allowing both to detach from the Water Authority while dropping all litigation.
In exchange, the two districts agreed to an immediate $25 million payment plus related costs and fees. The settlement minimizes rate impacts on San Diego County’s 3.3 million residents while avoiding expensive litigation. It also provides institutional certainty moving forward.
“While the majority of SDCWA’s remaining 22-district membership remains opposed to detachment, they agree that this settlement makes the best of a bad situation,” said Mel Katz, chairman of the Water Authority Board. “While we continue to believe the detachment award should have been higher, RMWD and FPUD are required to pay all costs above the amount ordered by the Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) in addition to its entire exit fee upfront, meaning there will be no immediate rate impacts for ratepayers.”
As part of the settlement agreement, both RMWD and FPUD have agreed to pay all costs related to the decommissioning of Water Authority facilities not being used post-detachment. The two agencies have agreed to indemnify and hold harmless the Water Authority against any future claims related to detachment. Both will complete all administrative, technical, and infrastructure-related tasks before the facilities can be transferred.
These settlement conditions exceed the conditions prescribed by LAFCO as part of its conditions for detachment.
In response to LAFCO’s July decision to approve RMWD and FPUD’s request for detachment, Assemblymember Tasha Boerner introduced and passed Assembly Bill 399: The Water Ratepayer Protection Act. Mayor Todd Gloria and the City of San Diego supported AB 399.
This legislation was signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom this fall and will go into effect in January 2024. It will require a countywide election to be held for a detachment of a local district moving forward. Its provisions protect the long-term integrity of the Water Authority and the San Diego region’s ratepayers.
Voters across two North County water districts overwhelmingly supported a ballot measure to break away from the San Diego County Water Authority, capping a years-long effort to divorce from the regional agency.
In unofficial election results from the Tuesday election, roughly 19 of every 20 ballots cast by residents of the Rainbow Municipal Water District and the Fallbrook Public Utilities District supported leaving the county water authority.
Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed a bill requiring a countywide vote before a local water district can “detach,” though it’s too late to prevent local votes in Fallbrook and Rainbow.
The two rural districts have sought to leave the San Diego County Water Authority for a cheaper, if potentially less reliable water supply from Riverside County.
Assembly Bill 399, introduced by Assemblymember Tasha Boerner of Encinitas and sponsored by the city of San Diego, expands voting requirements should agencies seek to withdraw from any county water authority.
The new law is effective Jan. 1, but the votes in Fallbrook and Rainbow are scheduled for Nov. 7.
The Water Ratepayers Protection Act of 2023 (Assembly Bill 399) was signed Friday by California Gov. Gavin Newsom, adding affordability safeguards for residents and businesses in the San Diego County Water Authority’s service area.
The legislation, introduced by Encinitas Assemblymember Tasha Boerner and sponsored by the City of San Diego, expands voting requirements should agencies seek to withdraw or “detach” from the Water Authority. Under the new law, a majority vote in both the separating district and the County Water Authority would be necessary to complete a detachment as of Jan. 1, 2024.
“This is a simple matter of fairness,” said Water Authority Board Chair Mel Katz. “The people whose rates would increase if a water district leaves the County Water Authority should have a say. It’s gratifying that the state Legislature and the governor added these important protections for disadvantaged communities, working families, farmers, and others across San Diego County.”
The next time a member of a regional water agency wants to secede, a majority of voters across the entire wider district will have to approve the change under a bill signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Late last week the governor signed Assembly Bill 399, legislation authored by Encinitas Democrat Tasha Boerner and originally designed to thwart an effort by water officials in Fallbrook and Bonsall from divorcing from the San Diego County Water Authority.
Newsom signed the bill without issuing any public comment.
The farming communities covered by the Rainbow Municipal Water District and Fallbrook Public Utilities District got permission in July to separate from the San Diego County Water Authority, the agency that buys water on behalf of the region and sells it to individual agencies. Now, voters in those two districts must approve the divorce.
Nearly 600,000 ballots are on their way to registered voters in the 4th Supervisorial District, City of Chula Vista, Fallbrook Public Utility District and Rainbow Municipal Water District for the Nov. 7 special election, the county registrar’s office announced today.
After three years and a contentious fight, ratepayers in Fallbrook and Rainbow will finally have their say on whether to leave the San Diego County Water Authority in November’s special election.
But for a while, that vote was in jeopardy.
When the San Diego County Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) approved the detachment in July, there was a bill making its way through the California Legislature that could have upended that.
San Diego is holding four special elections on Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2023. Understanding the “who, what, where when and how” of voting can be daunting. KPBS researched answers to frequently asked voter questions.
Voters will weigh in on four special elections in different parts of the County. Only those who live in the County’s Fourth Supervisorial District, the city of Chula Vista or in Fallbrook and Rainbow’s districts are eligible to vote in the special election.
In the county’s Fourth Supervisorial District voters will decide on who will fill the seat vacated by former Supervisor Nathan Fletcher and make the final choice among the top two vote-getters in the special general election — voting for either Monica Montgomery Steppe, a Democrat, attorney, and San Diego City Council president pro tem or Republican Amy Reichert, founder of ReOpen San Diego.
Voters in the city of Chula Vista will vote to fill the vacant City Attorney seat. This term expires in December 2026. Candidates include Bart Miesfeld, who served as a city attorney for Chula Vista in the past, Dan Smith Diaz, an attorney, and Marco Verdugo, also an attorney with Burke, Williams & Sorensen.
In Fallbrook and Rainbow voters will weigh in on whether the Fallbrook Public Utility District and the Rainbow Municipal Water District should detach from the San Diego County Water Authority and join the Eastern Municipal Water District.
By Alexander Nguyen / Multimedia Producer, North County
The Water News Network is San Diego County’s source for water news and information.
