Water District Seeks Merger With Another

Directors of the Municipal Water District of Orange County voted Wednesday to seek consolidation with another wholesale water supplier, the Coastal Municipal Water District, headquartered in Dana Point.

The merger of wholesale water districts, which import water from the Colorado River and the California Aqueduct to provide to local water suppliers, has been recommended by the Orange County Grand Jury to help streamline the water delivery process and lower water rates.

“There has been a strong commitment by our board to support actions that result in more efficient government,” Wayne Clark, president of Municipal Water District of Orange County, said in a press release. “This action will ensure that we keep our feet to the fire to make this happen.”

Neil Cline, president of Coastal’s board of directors, called the consolidation request premature. He said other proposed consolidation scenarios should be studied first.

“We are also investigating the feasibility of consolidation, but we were hopeful [Municipal Water District of Orange County] would defer the filing for 60 days until we heard from all our member agencies,” Cline said.

Municipal Water District of Orange County’s application for consolidation must be approved by the Local Agency Formation Commission, a county commission that acts on annexations and mergers. The commission is expected to take six months to a year to make a decision, a district spokesman said.