The San Diego County Local Area Formation Commission took a major step Monday toward allowing two rural water districts to leave the jurisdiction of the county Water Authority — by leaving the matter in the hands of the voters.
A local governing board voted to approve the separation of two North County water districts from the San Diego County Water Authority, moving forward their efforts to cut ties with the supplier in pursuit of cheaper water rates. The county’s Local Agency Formation Commission voted 5-3 in favor of allowing the Fallbrook Public Utility District and the Rainbow Municipal Water District to leave the central water agency and switch to Eastern Municipal Water District in Riverside County.
The San Diego County Local Area Formation Commission took a major step Monday toward allowing two rural water districts to leave the jurisdiction of the county Water Authority — by leaving the matter in the hands of the voters.
In a 5 to 3 vote today, July 10, 2023, LAFCO voted to allow Fallbrook and Rainbow to detach from San Diego Water Authority (SDWA). Directors Desmond, Willis, Drake, Vanderlaan and White voted in favor of allowing the detachment, while Directors Anderson, Whitburn and Becker voted against allowing Fallbrook and Bonsall to detach.
Two North County farming communities can divorce the San Diego County Water Authority and buy cheaper water elsewhere. That’s what San Diego’s boundary referees, the Local Agency Formation Commission or LAFCO, decided Monday. It was the eight-member board’s third try voting on this controversial breakup that powerful politicians from San Diego, Los Angeles and even the state Legislature tried to defeat.
Updated figures released today show that disadvantaged communities, working families, farmers, and others across San Diego County will be forced to pay nearly $200 million more over the next decade for water service unless agencies seeking to leave the Water Authority are required to fully cover their costs.
On July 10, the San Diego Local Agency Formation Commission’s board is expected to vote on a plan for the Fallbrook and Rainbow water agencies to leave the San Diego County Water Authority, possibly with the inclusion of an “exit fee.” However, LAFCO’s figures are based on years-old data and flawed projections that understate the annual costs of detachment by at least 50%. Like everything else, costs related to water supplies have inflated significantly over the past three years.
LAFCO’s data don’t reflect the inflationary realities or the fact that the financial impacts of detachment will continue far beyond LAFCO’s five-year horizon, which does not reflect the actual lifespan of water infrastructure or the debt used to finance it. The LAFCO staff report acknowledges impacts will continue far longer than five years, suggesting that the rest of the county should pay for benefits to Rainbow and Fallbrook.
“From the start of this process, one of our top priorities was making sure that residents across the region aren’t harmed financially. It’s critical that ratepayers who are struggling to make ends meet, independent farmers, and small businesses aren’t forced to subsidize Fallbrook and Rainbow for years to come,” said Water Authority Board Chair Mel Katz. “We encourage the LAFCO Commissioners to require Fallbrook and Rainbow to fully cover their costs.”
LAFCO’s staff recommendation to approve the detachment proposals by the Fallbrook and Rainbow water agencies does not include substantive analysis of impacts to disadvantaged communities, or to agriculture in the Water Authority service area. Nor does it include environmental analysis required by law.
The LAFCO staff recommendation includes an exit fee of about $4.8 million a year for five years, which isn’t close to covering the actual costs that will be shifted to residents elsewhere in the county.
Here’s how much retail water agencies in the region may have to pay each year to cover the projected $18.9 million bill from Fallbrook and Rainbow leaving:
The Water News Network is San Diego County’s source for water news and information.
