THOUSAND OAKS : Trial Over Water Rights Postponed

A trial to resolve a dispute over water rights between Thousand Oaks and a group of Santa Rosa Valley farmers has been postponed because of scheduling problems, a city official said Thursday.

City Atty. Mark G. Sellers said Ventura County Superior Court Judge Bruce A. Thompson asked that the trial be postponed. It was scheduled to be heard today. Attorney David A. Lamb, who represents the farmers, said the trial has tentatively been rescheduled for Sept. 14.

Five large ranches, including Camlam Farms, the Fitzgerald Ranch and B-H Farms, lie downstream from Thousand Oaks and filed the suit to continue irrigating crops with the water.

In the suit, farmers challenged a city-commissioned environmental study that indicates that taking the water out of Calleguas and Conejo creeks will not harm the environment.

The suit has effectively stalled the city’s plans to take 10,000 acre-feet of waste water that it dumps each year into the creeks and sell it to the Pleasant Valley Water District.

In turn, Thousand Oaks has filed a complaint with the State Water Resources Control Board. It asks state officials to take immediate action to stop the farmers from irrigating crops with the free waste water.

The state has not yet taken action against the farmers.