District Criticized for Laxity : Grand jury: Report says Capistrano Beach water agency lacks emergency, safety and strategic planning programs. Attorney blames management woes.

The Orange County Grand Jury issued a report Wednesday criticizing the Capistrano Beach County Water District for its lack of emergency, safety, maintenance and strategic planning and programs.

In a bare-bones, 1 1/2-page report that culminated a two-month study of the small South County district, the jury recommended that such plans and programs “be created by the district as priority business.”

The probe by the grand jury’s environment/transportation committee found that among the programs lacking were a master plan, an emergency preparedness plan, a fire hydrant test plan, a leak detection program and an emergency water reserve plan.

The district provides water to about 8,000 customers in Dana Point Harbor, the Capistrano Beach section of Dana Point and a small part of San Clemente.

Ronald A. Van Blarcom, the Orange-based attorney for the water district, said the district directors, four of whom are new, were aware of the planning problems and had been working on them. But progress had been “hampered by the lack of a full-time general manager,” Van Blarcom said.

“We need to get a manager on board to start knocking some of these things down,” Van Blarcom said. “I know we have already jumped on some of the safety stuff.”

It was the firing of district General Manager Dennis A. Erdman by the directors in March that prompted one director, Addison DeBoi, and other people to allege criminal acts and mismanagement. Erdman acknowledged that he contacted the grand jury seeking an inquiry.

DeBoi has charged that three other directors conspired in secret meetings to fire Erdman, as well as appoint a new director, in violation of public meeting laws.

The grand jury questioned the directors about the charges and, in its report, referred the allegations of public meeting law violations to the Orange County district attorney’s office for investigation. Such a referral was called “standard procedure” Wednesday by Deputy Dist. Atty. Guy Ormes.

Ormes, who said he has not seen the report, said allegations of violating public meeting laws are routinely turned over to his office, which is the investigative arm of the grand jury.

“This does not mean it is more, or less, likely that we will find a crime there,” Ormes said. He would not speculate on how long it would take for his office to make a finding on the allegations.

Van Blarcom said he was contacted by the district attorney’s office last week asking for minutes of recent meetings and financial disclosure forms from the directors, which he has prepared but not forwarded.

DeBoi remains convinced the district attorney will soon come forward with a formal complaint against the board.

“Most of the business that has been occurring in the last six months has been decided on the outside of the public meeting process,” DeBoi said.