High Desert Still Has Shot at Water : Drought: A developer says he offered the 6 million gallons a day elsewhere because he didn’t think that local agencies were interested.

The developer who stirred a controversy in the Antelope Valley by trying to export nearly 6 million gallons of ground water a day says he wants to sell the water within the thirsty region but has sought deals elsewhere, believing that local agencies were not interested.

In his first public comment on a dispute that surfaced a month ago, developer Raymond Shelton also confirmed that he and a new, unnamed partner want to develop the scenic Mountain Brook Ranch property, under which the water is located, into a country club-type community with estate homes.

Because such a development could be years away, however, Shelton has been trying to sell the water from the nearly 1,000-acre ranch as an interim source of income. Despite offering water deals to the state and the giant Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, Shelton said he’d rather keep the water in the high desert.

“We would much rather deal on a local basis. That’s our area. We think the water should go there,” Shelton said in an interview.

The San Clemente-based developer said he and the estate of a prior owner have a combined stake in the ranch of about 50%. The ranch is in the mountain community of Valyermo.

Shelton’s sentiments, however, were news to two of the Antelope Valley’s largest water agencies that have been fighting his efforts to export the water.

Officials at the Palmdale Water District said last week that Shelton has never approached them. The Antelope Valley-East Kern (AVEK) Water Agency said Shelton never made contact until last week about possibly selling it water.

Both agencies, which use ground water from within the valley, had complained about Shelton wanting to export the supply. But his new offer to sell the water locally drew a mixed response, with AVEK officials saying they probably weren’t interested but Palmdale officials saying they might be.

Despite cutbacks in other supplies, AVEK General Manager Wally Spinarski said that his agency has obtained enough water from other sources and that Shelton’s price might be too high. But Palmdale district General Manager Hal Fones said he is looking for water and wants to talk with Shelton.

Shelton said he sought out state water officials, with whom he is still talking, only after failing to finalize a deal with the MWD, which wholesales water to most of Southern California but not to the Antelope Valley.

Shelton said he had also talked with Palmdale city officials, who are not affiliated with the Palmdale Water District, about some kind of deal to trade his water for annexation of the ranch to the city and possible development concessions. But city officials said the land was too remote.

So although Shelton still lacks a deal, the 6 million gallons of water a day he says the ranch can provide is enough to serve nearly 7,000 families. And in a time of drought, that is a potentially valuable resource that could yield up to $1.6 million a year at present water prices.

Shelton refused to identify the joint venture partner he said will spearhead development of the ranch. However, he and Irvine-based Azeka De Almeida Planning confirmed that the firm is likely to do the planning for the property.