THE DROUGHT : Pipeline Supporters Oppose Pumping Plan

The city of Ventura and the Ojai Valley could tap into the state water system faster and cheaper than building a proposed $85-million pipeline to pump clean, pure Northern California water directly into local waterlines, authorities say.

But the cheaper approach of using existing creeks and a dry riverbed to transport the water to the thirsty county would lose a portion of water to seepage and mix the remaining clean state water with foul-tasting local water, they say.

As a result, Ventura city officials and its water district are trying to resist pressures from the drought and hold out for the more expensive option of piping the water from Castaic Lake, a state-owned reservoir near the junction of the Golden State Freeway and California 126.

“We have to put our money where it will provide the greatest value for our dollars,” said John Johnson, general manager of Casitas Water District, which supplies water to west Ventura and much of the Ojai Valley.

Nevertheless, the United Water District, which recharges ground water for growers in the Oxnard Plain and the cities of Oxnard and Port Hueneme, plans to begin taking water through Piru Creek and the Santa Clara River in August.

Frederick J. Gientke, general manager of United, acknowledged that the quality of the water will not be as pure as it would with a pipeline directly from Castaic Lake--the option preferred by Ventura and Ojai water authorities.

But he said his system needs relief from the drought.

“There is no reason to believe the drought will not continue,” Gientke said. “If we don’t act today to solve water problems, we--I--have failed in my job.”

Under the plan, the state will release the water from Pyramid Lake, down Piru Creek and into Lake Piru. United Water District will store the water at Lake Piru until it needs it. At that time, United will release the water down Piru Creek and into the Santa Clara River.

At Saticoy, the Freeman Diversion dam will divert the water from the river and into spreading grounds. Seeping into the earth, the water will recharge the area’s underground tables so growers and the cities of Oxnard and Port Hueneme can get the water they need.

If Casitas Water District or Ventura were to opt for the same program, the districts would be required to build pumping plants at Saticoy and a pipeline across the Santa Clara River.

Gientke estimated those costs at about $2 million, a tiny fraction of the cost of an $85-million pipeline from Castaic Lake.

Other existing pipelines could be used to ship water across Ventura, Gientke said, although he acknowledged that more work might have to be done on them.

But Ventura City Manager John Baker said the costs could be much higher for necessary treatment plants and other complications. The new pumping plant at Saticoy will cost the city $4 million when it is completed, without a new pipeline, Baker said.

“Nothing is that simple,” he said.

The city of Ventura paid a consultant to study the option of using the natural system three years ago, Baker said. At that time, the consultant concluded that the city should work toward a pipeline to carry water directly from Castaic Lake, he said.

Nevertheless, Baker said the City Council may wish to re-examine the option of using Piru Creek and Santa Clara River that could deliver water to Ventura as early as 1992. That would bring the city badly needed water three years ealier than the most optimistic date of completion for a pipeline from Castaic Lake.

Johnson said he would not bring the proposal to the Casitas Municipal Water District board of directors until Gientke can answer Johnson’s many questions about water quality and water loss to seepage.

Gientke said some of those concerns should be answered in an engineering study that will tell the district how and when to release its water down the creek and river so that the maximum amount will arrive at its destination.

The study, which has not yet begun, will examine the quality of the water once it travels through the natural system.

If the water quality is too poor, Gientke said his board can still opt into the pipeline project. But meanwhile, he said, his water district will be getting some relief.

“You want water today, this is what you get,” he said, referring to the inevitable degradation of the state water. “If you want high-quality water in five years, then this is what you pay.”

United Water District, like Casitas Municipal Water District and the city of Ventura, pays the state each year to reserve its allocation of state water, even though none of the three now receive their state allocations.

United’s allocation is 5,000 acre-feet and Casitas and Ventura pay for a combined 15,000 acre-feet allocation each year. Each water district pays $69.30 per acre-foot per year. United’s cost will go up to $174.34 per acre-foot in August to pay the pumping costs, Gientke said.

“That’s pretty cheap water,” Gientke said.