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Water Authority Board Supports Protections for Ratepayers and Property Owners

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The San Diego County Water Authority Board of Directors on May 28 voted to support a comprehensive evaluation of the impacts of detachment proposals by the Rainbow and Fallbrook water districts to ensure that ratepayers and property owners in those districts and the rest of the county are protected from potential impacts and given a meaningful opportunity to engage in the process.

That evaluation – under development by the San Diego County Local Agency Formation Commission, or LAFCO – should cover financial, water supply reliability, governmental, and environmental impacts, and it should ensure that the public and all affected agencies across the region can weigh in, according to the Water Authority Board resolution.

Read the entire resolution and related documents at www.sdcwa.org/lafco-detachment.

San Diego County Water Authority Board of Directors Chair Jim Madaffer-primary-View from the Chair

Jim Madaffer: Supporting Protections for Ratepayers and Property Owners

/in , /by by Jim Madaffer, Board Chair

I hope this finds you safe and healthy despite the challenging circumstances that we face as a region, state and nation.

While our hearts are heavy, we continue working on several critical issues at the Water Authority this month, and I would like to share three of them with you briefly.

  1. The Water Authority’s Board of Directors on May 28 voted to support a comprehensive evaluation of the impacts of detachment proposals by the Rainbow and Fallbrook water districts to ensure that ratepayers and property owners in those districts and the rest of the county are protected from potential impacts and given a meaningful opportunity to engage in the process. That evaluation – under development by the San Diego County Local Agency Formation Commission, or LAFCO – should cover financial, water supply reliability, governmental, and environmental impacts, and it should ensure that the public and all affected agencies across the region can weigh in, according to the Water Authority Board resolution. I encourage you to read the entire resolution at www.sdcwa.org/lafco-detachment.
  2. Our Board has set a public hearing on 2021 rates and charges on June 25. As you know, this has been a very rough stretch financially for almost every business and agency – and water utilities are no exception. Staff has proposed a strategy that would raise the rates we charge our member agencies by about 6 percent next year. That recommendation is the result of cost-cutting, using our Rate Stabilization Fund and other measures. It’s a thoughtful and careful proposal, and I’m expecting our Board will have robust discussion before voting on this issue that affects us all.
  3. On the financial front, we are also doing our part to attract more state and federal economic stimulus funds for a long list of shovel-ready water projects. The Water Authority has coordinated a letter from several water agencies asking Congress for COVID-19 financial relief for public water utilities and ratepayers. At the same time, I am pleased to announce that several regional water supply projects in San Diego County are on track to receive a total of more than $15 million in state grant funds, pending a final decision this summer. The money would help local agencies advance conservation, environmental enhancements, water purification and other initiatives.

As always, I will continue to update you on these critical issues and others in the weeks ahead.

View From The Chair represents the viewpoints of Jim Madaffer, Chair of the San Diego County Water Authority Board of Directors.

CWA Approves Detachment Conditions Resolution

/in , , /by /Fallbrook Village Newsby Joe Naiman

The San Diego County Water Authority will oppose the detachment of the Fallbrook Public Utility District and the Rainbow Municipal Water District from the SDCWA unless certain findings can be made.

A May 28 SDCWA board vote approved a resolution that the CWA will oppose the detachment unless it can be demonstrated that FPUD and Rainbow can guarantee that all obligations promised to their own ratepayers are met, that the detachment will not adversely affect the other 22 CWA member agencies or the county as a region, that the detachment and annexation into the Eastern Municipal Water District will not increase reliance on the Bay-Delta, and that the detachment will not reduce the CWA’s voting power at Metropolitan Water District of Southern California board meetings.

“This resolution does not oppose these detachment applications. It lays out a process to thoroughly review,” Sandra Kerl, general manager of CWA, said. “Today’s resolution is intended to get the ball rolling.”

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LAFCO Approves Public Vote for FPUD-Rainbow Detachment

/in , , /by /Fallbrook Village Newsby Joe Naiman Quoted: San Diego County Water Authority

When the proposal for the Fallbrook Public Utility District and the Rainbow Municipal Water District to detach from the San Diego County Water Authority and annex to the Eastern Municipal Water District is heard by San Diego County’s Local Agency Formation Commission, a public vote will follow any LAFCO board approval.

LAFCO’s board voted 8-0 to call for a public vote, May 4, and the motion also included the creation of a technical advisory committee. LAFCO executive officer Keene Simonds will draft proposed tasks for the committee and a proposed membership composition, and LAFCO is scheduled to approve that criteria June 1.

South Orange County Water Reservoir, Dam Project Still Moving Forward

/in , , /by /The Capistrano Dispatch (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.)by Collin Breaux

A water dam and reservoir under construction on land acquired from Rancho Mission Viejo has not been affected by the coronavirus pandemic, according to Santa Margarita Water District Deputy General Manager Don Bunts.

Recent rainfall, however, has affected the Trampas Canyon Dam and Reservoir project, which intends to store recycled water. Work on the project restarted on Monday, April 27, after being delayed for a few weeks, Bunts said.

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It’s Official: Two North County Districts Want Out of County Water Authority

/in , , /by /San Diego Union-Tribuneby J. Harry Jones Quoted: San Diego County Water Authority

The water agencies that serve the Fallbrook and Rainbow areas of North County have officially filed applications to detach from the San Diego County Water Authority, an unprecedented move with potential financial implications for almost all water customers in the county.

The Fallbrook Public Utility District and the Rainbow Municipal Water District filed “reorganization” applications with the Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) on Wednesday. The filing has been expected for months and will likely trigger a lengthy process that could culminate, should the Water Authority have its way, with a vote of all customers served by any of the 24 water districts that belong to the umbrella water agency.

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Water Fight About to Kick Into High Gear; Fallbrook, Rainbow to Take on County Water Authority

/in , , /by /San Diego Union-Tribuneby J. Harry Jones Quoted: San Diego County Water Authority

Within the next few weeks, two water districts will be filing unprecedented applications to detach from the San Diego County Water Authority.

Instead, they intend to buy water directly from the Metropolitan Water District via the Eastern Municipal Water District in Riverside County, thereby saving both districts millions of dollars annually.

The Fallbrook Public Utility District and the Rainbow Municipal Water District say they are in a unique position to divorce themselves from the Water Authority because Metropolitan pipes run right past their geographic areas.

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Opinion: FPUD and Rainbow Make Brave Move to Save Ratepayers Money

/in , , /by /Village News (Fallbrook, Calif.)by Ann Wade Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

Over the holidays, I received a letter from the San Diego County Water Authority designed to make customers of Fallbrook Public Utility District and Rainbow Municipal Water District worry. The tone of the letter alluded that if the two districts de-annex from the Water Authority, the reliability of our water supply would be at risk and our water prices could go up.

Since I have been to several community meetings where this change was discussed, I knew this insinuation was not true. FPUD and Rainbow have researched this option specifically to keep water rates down for our districts.

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Why San Diego Farmers Worry About Water

/in , /by /San Diego Readerby Sheila Pell Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

Valley Center farmers aren’t alone when it comes to the high cost of water. But it could get lonelier and costlier if two neighboring water districts unyoke from the Water Authority to get a fresh start in Riverside.

In December, the boards of the Fallbrook Public Utility District and the Rainbow Municipal Water District voted to begin detachment from the San Diego County Water Authority in order to join Riverside’s Eastern Municipal Water District.

Will those left behind pay more as others tap new supplies? Questions are flying in Valley Center, where farms are the main customers, even as avocado turf keeps shrinking

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Vanderlaan Selected as LAFCO Vice-Chair

/in , /by /Fallbrook Village Newsby Joe Naiman Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

Bonsall resident Andy Vanderlaan will be the vice-chair of San Diego County’s Local Agency Formation Commission for the 2020 LAFCO board meetings.

Vanderlaan, who is the public member on the LAFCO board, was chosen as the LAFCO vice-chair Dec. 2. County Supervisor Dianne Jacob, who was LAFCO’s vice-chair for 2019, will be the 2020 chair.

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