North County : 3 Cities Can Withdraw From MWD, Panel Says

Anaheim, Fullerton and Santa Ana are entitled to withdraw from the Municipal Water District of Orange County and split more than $1.5 million in refunded district money, Local Agency Formation Commission officials ruled Wednesday.

The three cities are withdrawing from the district, which represents most of the county in obtaining water from the larger Metropolitan Water District, in protest over more than $130,000 in proposed surcharges. Anaheim will get $950,000 in refunds, Santa Ana will get $400,000 and $150,000 will go to Fullerton, said Stephen Bucknam Jr., chief engineer of Santa Ana’s utilities agency.

Santa Ana Mayor Daniel E. Griset told the commissioners that negotiations on the issue have gone on for about 10 months without result. “We were getting a little bit tired of playing ‘hide-the-ball’ ” with the district, he said. City officials argue that they should be able to negotiate directly with the district and get little benefit from their concurrent membership in the smaller district.

Opponents of the withdrawal said the move could mean higher rates for their customers and make it more difficult to procure water from the larger district. “Our purpose is to represent these cities to the Metropolitan Water District to ensure the continuation of a dependable imported water supply,” said Stan Sprague, general manager of the Orange County district.

District board member Wayne Clark said the reallocation of funds would put about $1 billion in proposed water delivery projects in jeopardy. Bucknam said the reallocated funds would be earmarked for water-related projects.

Supervisor Roger Stanton, chairman of the Local Agency Formation Commission, said he could see no “cogent arguments” against the withdrawal and added that Wednesday’s vote probably is not the final action on the issue. Representatives on both sides said the ultimate decision probably would be made by the Board of Supervisors and perhaps the courts.