Santa Clarita / Antelope Valley : Water Co. Hearing to Be Televised

A March 23 public hearing on the proposed sale of the Santa Clarita Water Co. to the Castaic Lake Water Agency will be televised this month so that residents can hear from both supporters and detractors.

The Castaic Lake Water Agency and officials from the city of Santa Clarita have both voiced interest in buying the local water company. Officials from the Santa Clarita Water Co. have said they favor being purchased by the Castaic water agency.

Talks between the water agency and water company, which serves nearly 20,000 of the 50,000 water connections in the valley, are ongoing.

The Castaic agency wants to buy the company, in part to settle a 1991 lawsuit over the allocation of state water and to move forward with a water management plan for the Santa Clarita Valley.

City Manager George Caravalho, however, contends a possible conflict of interest may exist if a wholesale water supplier such as Castaic becomes a water retailer.

The meeting, which included presentations by officials and supporters and opponents, will air on public access channel 27 in Valencia and channel 16 in Canyon Country on April 13 and 15 at 7:30 p.m., and April 19 and 22 at 8 p.m.