Council Changes Plan for Water District

Citing a disagreement with Dana Point officials, City Council members this week abandoned a plan to consolidate the Capistrano Valley Water District with the city of San Juan Capistrano.

The council instead decided to merge the water district’s operations with those of the city. Under the new plan, the city will maintain and operate the system and will retain water district workers as city employees. The water district’s board of directors will remain in place.

Originally, the city had planned to dissolve the water district, which officials said would eliminate duplication of services and be more cost effective.

To do that, the city would have needed an agreement with Dana Point, which has about 1,000 residents who are served by the Capistrano Valley Water District.

During the talks, Dana Point officials said they would want San Juan Capistrano to pay Dana Point $50,000 a year for administration costs associated with the proposal and that they would want input on the water system’s budget and operation.

“The whole purpose of this concept was to save rate-payers’ money,” San Juan Capistrano Councilman Wyatt T. Hart said. “To have to pay someone $50,000 . . . would defeat the whole purpose.”

San Juan Capistrano officials said they expect the combining of city and water district staff and facilities to achieve about the same savings as outright consolidation.