Countywide : State Asked to Stop Farmers’ Water Use

Thousand Oaks has asked the state to take immediate action to stop a group of farmers from irrigating crops with free waste water the city dumps into the Calleguas and Conejo creeks.

In a complaint filed last week with the state Water Resources Control Board, Thousand Oaks officials contend that the diversion of water is illegal and interferes with the city’s plans to sell the water.

Named in the complaint were Robert B. Lamb, B-H Farms, the Fitzgerald Ranch and the estate of Carmen Camarillo Jones, all in the Santa Rosa Valley.

The farms grow vegetables and fruit with the help of treated waste water discharged from a municipal sewer plant. The water flows from Conejo Creek into Calleguas Creek before emptying out to the ocean.

In the complaint, Thousand Oaks officials contend that the city has exclusive rights to the water because it imports almost all of its supplies into the area.

The city’s complaint is another salvo in what has been a 3-year-old dispute with the farmers.

The City Council in January approved a plan to sell treated waste water to Pleasant Valley Water District in Camarillo, which wants to use the water to supply farmers on the Oxnard Plain.

In February, farmers replied by filing a lawsuit challenging Thousand Oaks’ rights to the water.

“It’s just harassment because we brought the lawsuit,” said David Lamb, an attorney who represents the farmers.

Thousand Oaks Utilities Director Donald Nelson refused to comment on the complaint. He said the city has been negotiating for months to sell the water to the farmers but has failed to reach an agreement.