MWD’s Dirt-Digging Scheme Is All Wet

In today’s politics, the smear goes by the high class name of “opposition research.”

A researcher--really a snoop--rummages through public records, beginning with the birth certificate, in search of dirt on a political opponent. A really talented snoop delves into private records as well, not too difficult a task in our computerized society.

If the results of the research are hot, they are leaked to a reporter, who publishes or broadcasts the information in the guise of a “scoop.” If not--if the snoop has found nothing hot--the opposition research finds its way to the bottom of a filing cabinet. In politics, you don’t want the world to know your opponent is clean.

You wouldn’t expect leaders of the esteemed Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, which provides the Southland with much of its water, to engage in such a grubby enterprise. But they did, hoping to use it against their great enemies in San Diego and Imperial counties.

San Diego wants to shake free of its dependence on the MWD for water and develop an independent supply, buying surplus water from Imperial Valley farmers. The MWD fears that such independence would cut into its revenue and possibly lead to a breakup of the huge district.

MWD leaders are so determined to win that they hired an opposition research firm, Koenig & Dorsey, to compile dirt on their San Diego and Imperial County foes. It cost almost $11,000 of taxpayers’ money, and produced absolutely nothing of interest. But instead of being hidden and forgotten, the research fell into the hands of San Diego folks, who immediately distributed it to reporters as an example of how the MWD is wasting public money.

*

My copy of the research, contained in a thick and heavy blue binder, arrived at The Times’ 2nd Street guard station late one afternoon. I hurried downstairs to pick it up with the feeling of security one has knowing that all incoming packages are X-rayed.

I have often been leaked opposition research, but usually in small amounts contained in photocopied pages with portions highlighted by the leaker, who figures I’m too dumb to spot the good stuff. This was the first time I had seen a complete report, and I opened it with a sense of expectation, even excitement.

The title page looked promising: “Research Report on the Bass Brothers.” It was marked “Confidential.”

The Bass brothers are Texas billionaires who own or control vast acreage in the Imperial Valley and would presumably profit from the sale of surplus agricultural water to San Diego. The MWD has seized on them as the villains, which is an attempt to put a human face on the San Diego-Imperial combine. Californians, the MWD figures, love to hate Texas billionaires.

I turned the page to Chapter 1, titled “Who Are the Bass Brothers?” Instead of the scoop on the mysterious Texans, however, Chapter 1 contained two biographical newspaper stories, one from the Orange County Register and the other from the Houston Chronicle. I could have picked them up from the Internet.

The researchers also uncovered the fact that two state legislators reported receiving free tickets to Disneyland, presumably evidence that they were in the Bass brothers’ pocket. (The Bass brothers have helped finance Walt Disney Productions). Another lawmaker reported receiving a $2.50 cigar from the Imperial Irrigation District, which covers an area where the Bass brothers own land.

The rest of the 400 pages were filled with similarly harmless information.

*

The research was financed by several water agencies that are members of the MWD, including the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, the Long Beach Water Department, the Municipal Water District of Orange County and the Las Virgenes Municipal Water District. They have banded together in an organization called the Partnership for Regional Water Reliability, which has the sound of one of those front groups organized to get around campaign finance laws.

Money wasted on fruitless snooping would be a joke if our water supply weren’t in such trouble.

As Times staff writer Jeffrey L. Rabin reported recently, the earthquakes around Mammoth could be precursors of volcanic eruptions threatening the DWP pipes bringing water from the Owens Valley to Los Angeles.

Moreover, the DWP may be forced to reduce the amount of water it takes from that valley, to help repair the damage to the land caused by L.A.’s removing the water.

Rapid population growth in Arizona and other states along the Colorado River will soon limit the water the MWD obtains from that mighty stream.

There’s little, if any, chance of Southern California obtaining more water from Northern California rivers.

But the Southland’s population continues to grow. That’s why it’s important to use surplus water available from the Imperial Valley and other farming areas.

Much of the Southland’s future is in the hands of the MWD. After leafing through the 400 pages of clumsy sleuthing, I think we’ve got something to worry about.