SAN CLEMENTE : Dissolution of Water District OKd by City

The City Council last week called for the dissolution of the 35-year-old Tri-Cities Municipal Water District and suggested the city should buy its water from another source.

In a resolution passed by a 3-1 vote, the council also said the city should take over the maintenance and management of the San Clemente-based district. Councilman Thomas Lorch cast the dissenting vote and Councilman Joseph Anderson was absent.

Members of the council majority said the city could save money by bypassing Tri-Cities, a wholesale district that acts as a “middleman” in the imported water distribution system. Water imported from Northern California and the Colorado River is purchased by the Dana Point-based Coastal Municipal Water District, sold to Tri-Cities and then, in turn, sold to San Clemente.

Councilman Truman Benedict portrayed his vote as a way of “cutting out a layer of government.”

“We’re living in an era of diminishing resources,” Benedict said. “I don’t think you can have two wholesalers. It seems as though we’re paying the cost of one administrative unit that doesn’t have to be a part of the whole thing.”

Lorch pleaded with the council to study the matter further before making a decision. If the city bypassed Tri-Cities, it would be “giving up local control,” Lorch said.

“There’s no cost data in this report,” Lorch said. “Let’s not change just for change sake.”

The directors of the Capistrano Beach County Water District and the Capistrano Beach Sanitary District passed a similar resolution last week that called for Tri-Cities to dissolve.

Tri-Cities was formed in 1959 when the growing city of San Clemente could no longer rely on local wells for all its water needs. The district built two reservoirs and two pipelines to bring water into South County.

William C. Mecham, the president of the Tri-Cities board of directors, has challenged the city to show it would be cheaper if the city took over the maintenance and operation of the district. He said the district provides water cheaper than the city will be able to provide.

The council will forward its Tri-Cities resolution to the Local Agency Formation Commission, which is studying the consolidation of water districts in South County and will make a final decision.

The Orange County Grand Jury is also studying the consolidation of the four wholesale water districts in the county, including Tri-Cities.