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Fallbrook Fights for 70 Years to Use Water From Nearby River

/in , , /by /NBC 7 San Diegoby Joe Little Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

The Santa Margarita River flows through town but Fallbrook had to fight for 70 years to finally use it.

The narrow river winds its way from Riverside County, through Fallbrook, and eventually onto Camp Pendleton in northern San Diego County where it empties into the Pacific Ocean. For the longest time, the military base did not want to share the river’s water with Fallbrook. The federal government filed a lawsuit against Fallbrook in 1951. Since then, Fallbrook Public Utility District General Manager Jack Bebee said they’ve battled, negotiated, and pleaded with all levels of government.

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FPUD Board, Others Tour Conjunctive Use Project Progress

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

The Fallbrook Public Utility District held a Nov. 10 tour of the Santa Margarita Conjunctive Use Project.

All five FPUD board members participated in the tour. If a majority of board members are present, an activity must be noticed as a public meeting, and members of the public were also invited to join the tour.

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FPUD Board Tours Conjunctive Use Project Sites

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

The five Fallbrook Public Utility District board members were given a tour of FPUD’s Santa Margarita Conjunctive Use Project sites May 29.

Because a majority of the FPUD board members were present, it was legally required to be a noticed public hearing and the tour was officially a special meeting of the FPUD board. Although members of the public were welcome to attend they would have been required to remain in their own cars or trucks due to the coronavirus quarantine, but they would have been able to hear the audio communications.

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Spaletta Chosen as FPUD Special Counsel for Santa Margarita Water Rights

/in , /by /Village News (Fallbrook, Calif.)by Joe Naiman

The Fallbrook Public Utility District will use Jennifer Spaletta as FPUD’s special counsel for matters involving Santa Margarita River water rights.

A 5-0 FPUD board vote, Oct. 28, approved the legal services agreement with Spaletta Law. Spaletta replaces Martha Lennihan, who retired.

“We just retained another water rights attorney with a lot of experience and knowledge in the area,” FPUD general manager Jack Bebee said.

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MWD Approves Conjunctive Use Project Subsidy

/in , /by /Fallbrook Village Newsby Joe Naiman

The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California has a subsidy program for projects which produce local supply and the projects MWD will fund now include the Santa Margarita River Conjunctive Use Project.

MWD’s board vote Sept. 10 approved the agreement with the San Diego County Water Authority and the Fallbrook Public Utility District. FPUD is expected to receive $23,637,500 in incentive payments over a 25-year period.

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Landmark Agreement on Santa Margarita River Project Signed By Federal Judge

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Fallbrook, Calif. – A lawsuit filed in 1951 has finally been settled as of April 29, 2019. After 68 long years of litigation, planning and brainstorming, the Fallbrook Public Utility District and Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton jointly hailed the end of the lawsuit at a district board meeting May 20.

The Santa Margarita River Conjunctive Use Project was signed by U.S. District Court Judge Gonzalo Curiel in April. This is a landmark agreement that finally, officially, settles how the two will share their water rights to the river.

 

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