VENTURA : City Water Supply Called Sufficient

Ventura’s existing water supply is sufficient for the next 15 years, so the city does not have to build an expensive desalination plant anytime soon, a City Council committee has concluded.

A committee report released Wednesday recommends that city officials monitor the water situation in coming years, but make no long-term decisions until the city’s normal water supply begins to fall below demand.

The finding is the product of months of debate--and analysis of an engineer’s water study--by the council’s three-member Utility Committee, composed of Councilmen Steve Bennett and Jack Tingstrom and Mayor Tom Buford.

Unlike most of Ventura County, the city does not get its water from Northern California via a State Water Project aqueduct. Instead, Ventura’s supply comes from Lake Casitas and ground water wells.

Following a six-year drought that prompted strict water rationing, Ventura residents in 1992 backed construction of a desalination plant. But the measure was advisory, and the City Council has not yet decided what to do about its long-term water problems.

The committee’s new findings are based on a study, which found that because of conservation, an increased supply from Lake Casitas and more underground water banking, a desalination plant was not immediately necessary.

The City Council is expected to discuss the committee report within two months.