Former Official Calls Ventura’s New Water Contract a ‘Mistake’

A pricey water deal between the city of Ventura and the Casitas Municipal Water District has one former city water official questioning the wisdom of the City Council.

The council late Monday approved a 30-year contract with the Ojai Valley water agency to buy millions of gallons of water every year.

But Richard W. Dettloff, a retired city water superintendent, is complaining that the deal does nothing but burden Ventura and provide millions of dollars for the cash-strapped district.

“I think it was a mistake,” said Dettloff, who distributed copies of his complaints to council members before Monday’s 5-0 vote, with one abstention. “There are no benefits and mostly liabilities to what they have done.”

City officials said the deal gives them more flexibility in where and when they distribute water, which allows them to better plan for drought.

The 11-page contract calls for Ventura to buy 2,500 acre-feet of water each year until the Casitas district completes a water treatment plant.

Once that $9-million project is finished next summer, the city must purchase 6,000 acre-feet of water every year through 2025. There are about 325,000 gallons of water in an acre-foot.

Ventura used less than 3,500 acre-feet of Casitas water in 1992 and 1993 combined because use was low following a six-year drought, Public Works Director Ronald Calkins said. But over the past 20 years, the average is closer to 7,000 acre-feet, he said.

“During the drought, unusual things happened,” Calkins said. “Demand was very, very low. But we project it to slowly come back up.”

A longstanding agreement between the city and the water district allowed Ventura to buy only as much water as it could use within the district, which stretches to Mills Road in central Ventura.

Calkins said the new long-term commitment allows his department to use some Ojai Valley water in east Ventura during periods of peak demand.

The city now draws water from Casitas, the Ventura River bottom and other underground pools. Through its agreement with Casitas, Ventura is ensuring that it will not have to overdraft its river basins or east Ventura wells, he said.

“We’re able to put more Casitas water to use,” Calkins said. “We can use it at certain times of the year and in certain ways that really stretch our water supplies.”

The contract calls for the city to pay almost $151 an acre-foot, plus a $349,000 annual meter charge. That totals more than $726,000 this fiscal year.

When the city begins buying 6,000 acre-feet of water annually, Ventura will pay Casitas more than $1.25 million every year.

One council member not sold on the deal was Jim Monahan.

Monahan abstained from voting because he said the contract’s benefit to the city was unclear. “It doesn’t sound right,” he said.

Councilman Steve Bennett, however, who sits on the city’s Utilities Committee, called the contract a good deal for the city and the water district.

“There are two very significant benefits,” Bennett said. “More flexibility to the city and having Casitas be able to treat their water.”

The Casitas district approved the contract unanimously on June 28, because it will provide a stable revenue source to help finance the water treatment plant.

“It’s not like we’re forcing them to take the water,” water district Director Bill Hicks said. “It’s considerably less than they’ve taken in previous history.”

Dettloff also complained that there was no feasibility study conducted before the agreement was signed to determine whether the district’s treatment plant would raise rates for Ventura taxpayers.

But Calkins said the city has prepared for years to enter into this contract.

“We spent years and hundreds of thousands of dollars on water studies,” Calkins said. “This contract is implementing a lot of those findings.”