Proposal for Ground-Water Agency Dropped : Antelope Valley: Widespread opposition undermines Palmdale district’s plan for creation of a new government body to oversee well use.

Stung by widespread, angry opposition, the Palmdale Water District decided Tuesday to abandon its three-month-old proposal to create a new government agency to manage ground-water resources in the Antelope Valley.

The 5-0 decision by the district’s board of directors reversed its unanimous vote in December to seek community support for the concept. Since then, developers, city officials, farmers, landowners and even other water officials all denounced the plan.

“In all reality, it’s not going to go anywhere, so we might as well drop it,” said Hal Fones, the district manager. “We had anticipated opposition, but nothing as massive or unreasonable as what we ran into.”

Opponents had accused the Palmdale district, a public agency that provides water to much of the city and surrounding areas, of trying to seize control of the region’s ground water, which district officials denied.

Opponents also contended that potential well fees under the plan would ruin farmers financially.

The proposal was an outgrowth of the discovery last year of cracks in the ground at Edwards Air Force Base and in Lancaster. Federal researchers believe the cracks are caused by the soil sinking due to heavy pumping of ground water in the region.

Although the discoveries received widespread attention initially and caused great concern, public officials in the Antelope Valley have made little progress during the past year in reaching agreement to study the problem or attempt to remedy it.

Under the district’s proposal, a nine-member board made up of appointees from various interest groups would have been created by the state Legislature, with authority to monitor ground-water pumping, ensure that it did not exceed safe limits, and levy taxes or fees to support the program.

Under the current system, ground-water use in the Antelope Valley is virtually unregulated, meaning public agencies, farmers, and homeowners with their own wells can pump as much water as the wells can produce, draining the region’s underground aquifer.