Bill to Beef Up Castaic Water Agency Advances

A bill designed to bring more water into the Santa Clarita Valley to accommodate its growing population was approved Tuesday by the Senate Agriculture and Water Resources Committee on a 6-0 vote and sent to the Senate Appropriations Committee.

The measure, by Assemblywoman Cathie Wright (R-Simi Valley), would allow the Castaic Lake Water Agency to buy surplus state water from San Joaquin Valley farmers, levy water connection fees and add four non-elected water company representatives to the seven-member elected agency board.

But the proposal to add water company officials to the board drew criticism from H. G. Callowhill, an elected member of the Castaic water board. He asserted that the officials “represent only their business interests” and would vote accordingly.

On the other hand, Callowhill said, he was elected to represent 33,000 people who are served by the district, which sells water in the communities of Newhall, Valencia, Saugus, Canyon Country and Val Verde.

Wright Amends Bill

Partly in response to such criticism and questions raised by a committee consultant, Wright amended the bill Tuesday. According to water agency lobbyists, the revised proposal exempts the non-elected board members from the state conflict-of-interest code, but leaves them subject to state anti-corruption statutes. The bill originally would have exempted the new members from both laws.

Appearance of Conflict

Former state Sen. Gordon Cologne (R-Indio), representing a law firm retained by the water agency, acknowledged that there was “obviously” the appearance of a conflict of interest, quickly adding that there really isn’t a conflict because the water companies “do represent the water user.”

Under Wright’s bill, the existing seven-member board, established by the Legislature to buy state water and sell it to water companies, would get its four new members by appointment from the two public water companies in the valley and two private firms.

The public water companies are the Newhall County Water District and Los Angeles County Waterworks District No. 36. The two private firms are the Santa Clarita Water Agency and the Valencia Water Co., a subsidiary of Newhall Land and Farming Co.

The two private water companies now control most ground-water supplies in the Santa Clarita Valley. They purchase state water from the Castaic Lake Water Agency wholesale, mix it with their ground water and sell it to homes and businesses.

Fees Could Raise $12 Million

Wright explained that, in exchange for the seats on the board, the four water companies agreed to allow the reconstituted Castaic Lake Water Agency to control all the ground water in the area.

The population of the area served by the agency is expected to double from 100,000 to 200,000 in the next 25 years. Supporters of the measure argued that, by charging a connection fee that could raise as much as $12 million, new water users would pay for the water.

Mary Spring, president of the Castaic Lake Water Agency, told the committee that the bill would ensure “adequate water supply and spread the cost evenly among users.”