OJAI : Water Firm Seeks Equal Treatment
An Ojai Valley water company is demanding equal treatment with Ventura when the Casitas Municipal Water District adopts a water-allocation plan.
“It gets our hackles up to hear Ventura is negotiating for an exemption,” said Lindsay Nielson, attorney for the Ventura River County Water District. The company sells water--pumped from the Ventura River basin or bought from Casitas--to about 5,100 Ojai Valley residents.
The company directors invited Casitas managers to respond to the Ojai Valley firm’s concerns Wednesday, voicing fears that Ventura will get special treatment because it is Casitas’ largest customer and partner in a plan to import state water.
Casitas General Manager John Johnson said, however, that all agencies that buy Casitas water will be treated equally under the allocation plan. The Casitas board, which manages Lake Casitas reservoir, will consider adopting the plan Aug. 14.
Under the Casitas plan, water companies would be penalized if they use more than 80% of their 1989-90 allocations. Ventura has asked for a larger allocation and an end to Casitas’ ban on new hookups. Casitas imposed the moratorium last year on all its customers in western Ventura and the Ojai Valley.
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