COUNTYWIDE : Water Officials Plan Two Public Forums

Water officials will hold public meetings in Ventura and Santa Paula next week to explain why they chose to study seven out of 52 possible ways to provide more water to the northern and western portions of Ventura County.

The city of Ventura, Casitas Municipal Water District and the United Water Conservation District narrowed the list of options from a study that will be released Friday and discussed at the forums, Casitas Manager John J. Johnson said.

The seven options include various pipeline routes for importing state water from the California Aqueduct, flowing state water down the Santa Clara River to replenish underground aquifers and building a plant to desalinate ocean water.

“We feel all of them are potentially competitive,” Johnson said. The study, he said, “documents and provides good evidence as to why we’re moving in the direction we are.”

The seven alternatives will be scrutinized in an environmental impact report scheduled for release in October. Any additional water would serve the residents of Ventura, Santa Paula, Fillmore, Port Hueneme, Piru, the Ojai Valley and the Channel Islands Beach Community next to Port Hueneme.

Consultants for the water agencies will explain the study in 45-minute talks at the two meetings. After the presentation, water experts will answer questions from the public.

The first forum will be held March 13 at 7:30 p.m. in the Santa Paula City Hall, 970 Ventura St. A second forum will be held March 14 at 7:30 p.m. in Ventura City Hall, 501 Poli St.

No other public meetings are scheduled on the topic in other communities, Johnson said.