OJAI : Water-Reclamation Project Scrubbed

A joint water-reclamation project between the Farmont Corp. and the Ojai Valley Sanitary District has been scrubbed, further delaying construction of an Ojai-area golf course.

The project was to have supplied 6.5 million gallons of water a year to a golf course to be built by Farmont just outside Ojai. A county permit issued for the golf course stipulates the project must use reclaimed water.

But Farmont pulled out of the project after refusing to pay for a $250,000 study of how the project would affect the Ventura River.

Farmont spokesman Lindsay Nielson said the sanitary district board was playing politics with the project in an effort to keep the controversial golf course from being built.

“It appears that the board . . . is far more interested in land-use issues and the politics of the environmental movement . . . than in achieving a reclaimed water facility,” Nielson said.

Construction on the proposed 204-acre golf course has been delayed for more than two years by lawsuits by environmental groups.

Sanitary District General Manager Eric Oltmann acknowledged the water-reclamation project “could not overcome environmental and political issues.”

At issue was the board’s decision to have Farmont fund the Ventura River study before addressing whether the project could proceed.

“The next thing they’ll have us do is pay for a study of the condor,” Nielson said.

But environmentalists maintain the study is necessary to evaluate the environmental impact of the project.

Farmont now will consider using reclaimed water from the Ventura County Honor Farm in Ojai, but few believe there is enough sewage there for the project.

Nielson said Farmont may attempt to amend the county permit to allow other means of achieving a net savings of drinking water for the region.

“We’ll give away 1,000 water-saving toilets if it comes down to that,” Nielson said.