Fountain Valley OKs Deal to Build 4 Wells

An agreement with Newport Beach that allows the seaside city to build four water wells in Fountain Valley has been approved by the City Council.

Two wells will be constructed on Hisamatsu Tamura Elementary School grounds and the other two on a city-owned site at Slater Avenue and the San Diego Freeway.

Newport Beach, which has no wells, will be able to obtain water from an underground basin at a lower price than it is now paying.

Public Works Director Wayne S. Osborne cited several benefits to Fountain Valley, among them that Newport Beach’s water lines will interconnect with Fountain Valley’s, giving the city access to the water in case of emergencies.

Mayor George B. Scott said the lease agreement is a “good deal for both cities.”

The lease agreement, passed unanimously Tuesday, grants an easement to Newport Beach for 25 years and may be extended for three additional 25-year periods.

Newport Beach also might have an option to buy the well properties.

Newport Beach will pay Fountain Valley $25,000 annually for the first 10 years of the lease. In subsequent years, the price will be adjusted according to changes in the consumer price index, Osborne said.

Because officials anticipate that the water table will be lowered by the additional wells, Fountain Valley’s energy costs to pump water from its own wells will rise, he said.

To compensate, he said, Newport Beach will pay $24,000 a year.