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Fallbrook Sees Rates Drop In ‘Water Divorce,’ Rainbow Not So Much — Yet. Here’s Why

With the new year, Fallbrook residents are seeing a reduction in their water rates as a result of the detachment from the San Diego County Water Authority (SDCWA) — the so-called “water divorce.”

RMWD General Manager Wiley appointed to SDCWA Board

The Rainbow Municipal Water District (RMWD) General Manager, Jake Willey, has been appointed to represent RMWD on the San Diego County Water Authority (SDCWA) Board of Directors. Wiley is assigned to serve on the Water Authority Administrative and Finance, and Engineering and Operations committees.

Wiley’s appointment stems from the retirement of former General Manager Tom Kennedy, who served as the district’s representative on the Water Authority Board for nine years during his tenure with the district.

Opinion: Water ‘Divorce’ Election is Manifestation of Larger County Problems

Customers in two North County water districts overwhelmingly voted to leave a regionwide agency for a simple reason: They can get less-expensive water elsewhere.

But the broader dynamics that led to this moment are complex — and are expected to increase costs for years to come for ratepayers remaining with the San Diego County Water Authority, an umbrella organization currently with 24 member agencies.

Newsom Signs Law Making it Tougher for Water Districts to Secede — But it Won’t Affect Rainbow and Fallbrook Plans

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.

Bill to Require Countywide Vote on Water Districts’ Divorce Passes, but Likely Too Late for San Diego

State lawmakers on Tuesday passed a bill that would require voters across broadwater authorities to allow individual districts to withdraw before they can legally detach from regional agencies.

But the legislation may be too late to prevent two North County water districts from divorcing from the San Diego County Water Authority.

Opinion: 37,000 County Residents Want to Raise Water Costs for 3.3 Million San Diegans Without a Vote

Imagine going to dinner with a large group where everyone orders a full meal and one couple leaves just as the bill arrives. Unfortunately, this “dine and dash” is happening right now in San Diego County. Except it’s not just friends at dinner but rather two water districts attempting to leave us all with a tab of more than $200 million as they form a new partnership in Riverside.

What does this mean for the rest of us? All our water bills will go up as we’re forced to foot the bill.

State Bill is Just a Little Too Late

A bill that would have made it harder for two water districts to break up with the San Diego County Water Authority lost a bit of steam late last week.

What happened: The state Senate Appropriations Committee passed AB 399 to the Senate floor for debate but got rid of a clause that would have allowed the bill to become law more quickly.

The bill would require that voters across the county approve any water district’s desire to leave the Water Authority. And that clause was important to the bill’s supporters because it would have stopped two districts from leaving.

Water Authority Cites CEQA in Lawsuit to Stop Fallbrook and Rainbow Detachment

The San Diego County Water Authority filed suit Monday to stop the rural Fallbrook and Rainbow water districts from leaving the county system, citing environmental harm under the California Environmental Quality Act.

The lawsuit filed in Superior Court challenges a decision by the San Diego Local Agency Formation Commission to allow the two districts to join Riverside County without paying what the Water Authority says is their fair share of water-reliability investments.

The “detachment” effort is the first of its kind in California and would shift approximately $140 million in costs to the rest of the Water Authority’s customers.

Opinion: Climate Change Will Undermine Quest by Fallbrook and Rainbow for Cheaper Water

The long-running debate over whether the Fallbrook and Rainbow communities should leave the San Diego County Water Authority to obtain cheaper rates ignores a very large elephant in the room — climate change.

If the two rural communities cast their lot with Riverside County, their agricultural economy will depend upon the Colorado River and the State Water Project, both of which have been reeling from increasingly severe droughts.

Lake Mead-Lake Powell-Colorado River Basin-U.S. Bureau of Reclamation

Opinion: Climate Change Will Undermine Quest by Fallbrook and Rainbow for Cheaper Water

The long-running debate over whether the Fallbrook and Rainbow communities should leave the San Diego County Water Authority to obtain cheaper rates ignores a very large elephant in the room — climate change.

If the two rural communities cast their lot with Riverside County, their agricultural economy will depend upon the Colorado River and the State Water Project, both of which have been reeling from increasingly severe droughts.

In December, just six months before the two communities’ case was heard by the Local Agency Formation Commission, the State Water Project announced that for the second year in a row, it would provide only 5% of requested water allocations.

Unexpectedly heavy winter rains then saved California, but not the Colorado River basin, where Lake Mead, the nation’s largest reservoir, remains 165 feet below its historic full level.

In May, the Western states that tap the Colorado River agreed to a reductions of up to 30% in water allocations. That’s a lot, and it’s not clear it is enough to save Lake Mead in the long run.

So Fallbrook and Rainbow are taking a risk. It’s a risk that was noted, albeit only briefly and obliquely, in the LAFCO proceedings.

“The superior reliability of SDCWA’s supply has benefitted FPUD and RMWD in the past … In switching from being wholesale customers of SDCWA to EMWD, FPUD and especially RMWD may face some challenges,” according to the official report for LAFCO.

Those “challenges” during a future drought could be a major reduction in water supply and higher prices at a time when the rest of San Diego County, thanks to the desalination plant, water recycling and the giant San Vicente Reservoir, has plenty of water.

Fallbrook and Rainbow say they don’t really benefit from this reliability, since their water systems are not directly connected. But water is a fungible resource. The two districts do have direct access to Colorado River water earmarked for San Diego County.

If the rest of San Diego County needs less Colorado water because of the investment in local supplies, then that water can be diverted to Fallbrook and Rainbow during a drought. And that’s exactly what happened during the most recent one. In any case, the Water Authority has plans for a physical connection, though it backed off amid the dispute.

Climate change impacts

There’s a whiff of national politics in all this. These are conservative communities where some may doubt climate change, and local business leaders have criticized desalination as a boondoggle. If you sincerely do not believe the climate is changing, then maybe you don’t see a risk in changing water suppliers.

In many ways this controversy is a bellwether for future wrangles over resources amid climate change. Do we stick with the old ways — in this case tapping our lakes and rivers — and hope for the best, or do we continue to invest in alternatives to protect our future?

It’s expensive to build desalination plants, recycling projects and new reservoirs, just like it’s expensive to upgrade the electrical grid and install car chargers. But a changing climate doesn’t ask for permission to impact our lives.

(Editor’s Note: Chris Jennewein is editor and publisher of Times of San Diego.)