Collection of Santa Clarita Water Fees to Begin Oct. 1

The Castaic Lake Water Agency voted Wednesday night to begin collecting water-service connection fees that will be used to help finance an ambitious $200-million plan to bring more water to the fast-growing Santa Clarita Valley.

By a unanimous vote, the 11-member agency board approved collecting the fees on new homes beginning Oct. 1, a month later than originally proposed. The fees are expected to bring in about $3 million a year.

Ranging from $725 to $1,015 per new home, the fees will be prorated for homeowners building additions such as swimming pools and bathrooms, agency officials said. They will be collected when building permits are obtained from the county.

The later effective date for the fees, originally scheduled to be levied beginning Sept. 1, is a result of comments made at a public hearing Tuesday night, said Jerry Gladbach, board president.

“We tried to be very sensitive to what we heard,” he said.

Some of the 55 people at the hearing asked that the fees be delayed because their projects are nearing the permit stage, Gladbach said. However, most who spoke wanted clarification of the fees’ purpose and how they would be implemented, he said.

The water-service connection fees received only mild opposition from developers, who are fighting in court a tax of up to $6,300 per home approved by voters in June to pay for new schools.

A spokesman for the Building Industry Assn. of Southern California, a group representing Santa Clarita Valley developers, said he is disappointed that the board did not adopt some of the recommendations contained in a letter he sent to the agency.

Richard Wirth said he asked that the fee be made effective Jan. 1, instead of Sept. 1 and that the fee be collected either when the building permit is obtained or a water meter is installed on a new home, whichever is later.

Pointing to escalating fees on developers, Wirth said he called for formation of a task force to suggest alternate ways of financing the water program.

But, he added, “We recognize the need for water. We’re not trying to get out of paying our fair share.”

Gladbach said the agency board discussed Wirth’s suggestions, but took no action on them.

Fee amounts differ within the service areas of the four companies that purchase water from the agency. The fees are based on the amount of water each company buys from the agency, Sagehorn said.

The fee in the areas served by the Los Angeles County Water Works District No. 36, which relies totally on the agency for its water, is the highest, at $1,015 per home. Fees in the other areas, which depend partly on groundwater pumping to supply their customers, are Valencia Water Co., $725; Santa Clarita Water Co., $960; and Newhall County Water District, $875.

The $200-million water plan that the fees are to help finance was developed in response to predictions that the Santa Clarita Valley will run out of water within five years if growth trends continue. The plan includes development of groundwater storage banks, implementation of a water reclamation program, the installation of miles of water pipelines, expansion of the agency’s existing facilities and the purchase of more water from the State Water Project.

“I think it’s a good thing for the valley,” Gladbach said. “We’re doing a lot of forward thinking to ensure an adequate water supply for the future.”