Santa Clarita / Antelope Valley : Water Agency May Sue City Over Creek : Environment: The district says a Palmdale project threatens replenishment of underground wells.

Water agency directors, who fear that a massive Palmdale housing project may jeopardize the Antelope Valley’s underground water supply, have voted to sue the city if the issue is not settled by March 25.

Directors of the Antelope Valley-East Kern Water Agency say an environmental impact report for the 7,200-home Ritter Ranch development, approved last month by the City Council, does not adequately protect Amargosa Creek, a major water source for the area.

Runoff carried by the channel on the west side of Palmdale seeps into the creek bed and replenishes the region’s underground water supplies. But directors of the water agency say Palmdale’s plans to improve the channel, developed as a result of the Ritter project, could disrupt that process.

Under state law, if the water agency does not file a lawsuit by March 25, it loses the right to challenge the final plans for the channel, agency officials said. As a result the agency’s board voted last week to sue Palmdale if an agreement on the design for the creek’s improvement is not reached before then.

The Antelope Valley-East Kern Water Agency mainly sells water from the California Aqueduct to the area’s retail water suppliers, which in turn sell it to local homeowners and businesses. The agency is concerned about underground supplies because it must draw from wells if the aqueduct is damaged.

Amargosa Creek, which aids these wells, has a history of flooding adjacent areas. To reduce this hazard, the city plans to use bond money for creek improvements.

The improvements will include reinforcement of the creek’s walls with concrete. Water agency directors are worried that the bottom of the channel also will be covered in some places, preventing runoff from seeping under ground.

Councilman Joe Davies, who attended a meeting last week with water agency officials, said the design work on the project has not been completed. But he said the city hopes to prepare a document assuring the water agency that the creek’s role in restoring underground supplies will be preserved.

“We’re waiting to see how that comes out,” Davies said. “It’s to everybody’s advantage to avoid lawsuits.”