CASITAS SPRINGS : Water District Won’t Punish Violators Yet

Water rationing instead of stiff penalties and orders to destroy crops is being considered by Casitas Municipal Water District officials as a way to penalize violators of a water shortage emergency.

But for the third time since April, the district board Wednesday delayed taking enforcement action. It will reconsider the matter Oct. 24.

After a heated exchange with ranchers, board members agreed to establish a citizens advisory committee before penalizing customers who have expanded their water use since the moratorium on new hookups and expansions took effect April 11.

“I’d rather do it right than do it fast,” said board President James W. Coultas, an Ojai citrus grower.

Ranchers who claimed that the water company had been using agriculture as a scapegoat for the shortage said they were relieved to hear a revised enforcement policy that will include all residential and commercial customers.

“That’s a good and hopeful sign,” said Richard Loy, attorney for some citrus and avocado growers who have formed the Concerned Citizens Committee for the Casitas Municipal Water District. Loy submitted a six-page letter citing court precedents that he believes challenge a water company’s attempt to regulate land use.

Earlier enforcement proposals included $2,500 annual fines per acre and orders to destroy crops planted since April.

Loy urged the board to delay the matter so it could consider allocating water to customers based on their net use rather than on how much additional land they developed or irrigated since the moratorium began.

Any enforcement policy will include 14 other water purveyors that buy Casitas water, such as the city of Ventura.

Rancher Chuck Starn, an officer in a small Casitas Pass water company, said he hopes that enforcement will be applied equally to all water companies regardless of their size.