OJAI : Water Officials to Discuss Fines

Public opinion will help determine whether the Casitas Municipal Water District decides to levy stiff fines on an Ojai water company for violating the district’s moratorium on new hookups, Casitas officials said last week.

The Southern California Water Co. faces fines of more than $500,000, which could mean higher water bills for its 2,688 Ojai customers, Casitas General Manager John Johnson said.

If Casitas does not fine the company, Johnson said, other district customers and resale agencies will clamor for equal treatment and expand their water use.

“The result of all this will be a greater demand on the Casitas system, with a possible drying up of the lake should a long-term dry spell be encountered,” Johnson said. The Lake Casitas reservoir provides water for about 55,000 residents of western Ventura County.

The Casitas board voted last week to ask officials in Ventura County and the city of Ventura for opinions on whether the fines should be imposed. Board members will meet today with Ojai officials and Southern California Water Co. executives in San Dimas to discuss the matter, Johnson said.

A public hearing will be scheduled in December for agricultural, residential and other commercial water users in the district to give their opinions, including those not directly served by Casitas.

Officials of Southern California Water Co. have said they are caught in the middle. When the company complied with Casitas’ order to impose a moratorium on new or expanded service connections in April, it was criticized by the California Public Utilities Commission. The company lifted the moratorium Oct. 26 and is waiting until it receives the commission’s approval to impose one.