In a move that is expected to save ratepayers in the Fallbrook Public Utility District and the Rainbow Municipal Water District approximately $10 million a year collectively, the districts took action Thursday, March 19, to withdraw from the San Diego County Water Authority and instead purchase their water from the Eastern Municipal Water District.
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.
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.
The Fallbrook Public Utility District and the Rainbow Municipal Water District now have a Memorandum of Understanding to work with each other on new water resource development and emergency supply.
The Dec. 3 Rainbow board meeting included a 4-0 vote with Michael Mack absent to approve the Memorandum of Understanding with FPUD while FPUD’s Dec. 9 board meeting approved the MOU on a 4-0 vote with Don McDougal absent. The MOU provisions include both collaborating on long-term water supply development and working together to improve emergency water supply capabilities.
“It’s just a good opportunity for us to work together and try to save money for our ratepayers,” FPUD general manager Jack Bebee said.
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
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.
The boards of directors of the Rainbow Municipal Water District and Fallbrook Public Utilities District have each adopted Resolutions of Application to detach from the San Diego County Water Authority and annex into the Eastern Municipal Water District, Metropolitan Water District’s wholesaler.
The leadership of two water districts have taken the unprecedented step of voting to begin the process of detaching from the San Diego County Water Authority — a move they say will save their ratepayers millions of dollars.
The votes by the boards of the Fallbrook Public Utility District and the Rainbow Municipal Water District this month begins a formal process that could take 18 months or longer and potentially involve a countywide vote.
The boards of the Rainbow Municipal Water District and the Fallbrook Public Utilities District have each adopted resolutions of application to detach from the San Diego County Water Authority.
The San Diego County Water Authority has asked for a countywide vote in case San Diego County’s Local Agency Formation Commission approves the prior steps for the Fallbrook Public Utility District and the Rainbow Municipal Water District to detach from the SDCWA and become part of the Eastern Municipal Water District.
The CWA board voted to request a countywide public vote Nov. 21. The term “countywide” applies only to residents within the CWA boundaries, which does not include the entirety of San Diego County.
The Water News Network is San Diego County’s source for water news and information.
