Water Districts OK Collaboration Deal

The boards of directors of the United Water Conservation District and the Calleguas Municipal Water District have agreed to collaborate on a plan to ensure that future water supplies throughout the county will remain clean and plentiful.

“This is a new era,” said Donald Kendall, Calleguas’ general manager. “In the past, the districts didn’t talk much to each other.”

While the districts, both formed in the early 1950s, will remain independent, they will provide reserve water supplies for each other in times of need and will develop a joint water management plan over the next year.

The plan will outline ways to conserve and store more water as well as utilize surplus flows when available.

“Water management really relies on how you coordinate both surface and ground water supplies,” Kendall said. “By working together, we’ll be able to better manage our resources.”

Calleguas taps into the state water supply in the Sacramento San Joaquin Delta, wholesaling the water to 75% of the county.

Its clients are Thousand Oaks, Simi Valley, Moorpark, Camarillo, portions of Oxnard and Port Hueneme, as well as many of the county’s unincorporated areas. The cities then retail the water to residents.

United serves primarily as the conservator of water supplies but also wholesales water to portions of Oxnard and Port Hueneme and many individual well pumpers. It gets water from the Santa Clara River and releases from Lake Piru.

Kendall stressed that the collaboration will not increase water rates.

“If anything it’ll probably keep them lower,” he said.

United approved the agreement July 2, and Calleguas approved it Wednesday.

Fred Gientke, general manager of United, could not be reached for comment.