County Wins Another Battle in Newhall Ranch Water War

In the second court victory for Ventura County since June, a state judge has tentatively ruled that a water company owned by Newhall Land and Farming Co. must analyze the environmental impact of a plan that would expand ground water pumping in the Santa Clarita Valley.

The ruling by Administrative Law Judge Bertram Patrick, following an appeal by Ventura County and several environmental groups, would require the Valencia Water Co. to study the consequences of nearly doubling the company’s water deliveries over the next 20 years, partly through more pumping of underground aquifers.

“We consider it a big victory, although the decision is not yet final,” said Antonette Cordero, a lawyer for Ventura County. “This is significant because we are concerned that increased pumping could lower ground water levels and affect the flow of water into Ventura County.”

State toxics experts have also raised concerns that increased pumping could spread contamination already in the Saugus and Alluvial aquifers under the Santa Clarita Valley, Cordero said.

The decision goes to the state Public Utilities Commission on Oct. 19 for review and possible adoption. If the commission orders a full environmental study, that could delay the hookup of new customers by up to one year, water officials said.

This week’s ruling is the second in four months against Newhall Land and Farming that involves water supplies for new housing projects.

In June, a Superior Court judge temporarily blocked construction of the 22,000-home Newhall Ranch development--the largest residential project in Los Angeles County history--until developers can guarantee a reliable water supply.

This week’s decision is related to the huge Newhall Ranch project in that the judge said in his 24-page decision that the extent of environmental analysis required of Valencia Water Co. could be lessened if the enhanced Newhall Ranch environmental report ordered by the Superior Court answers questions raised by the PUC.

“We see no reason to duplicate that effort,” Patrick wrote.

The Newhall Ranch development is related to Valencia Water Co.’s water plan because the first phases of that project are included in the company’s projections of long-term demand now before the utilities commission, water company President Robert DiPrimio said.

Newhall’s homes are expected to be built over 25 years. But DiPrimio said he thinks this week’s ruling, if adopted, would have no impact on Newhall Ranch.

“Not on Newhall Ranch,” he said. “But I do see it as a setback in receiving approval to serve near-term customers. Service expected right now might be delayed from six months to a year.”

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Valencia Water Co. serves not only 15,000 homes and commercial projects in Valencia, but Stevenson Ranch, Saugus and Castaic. It has 22,000 customers overall and expects that number to grow to about 40,000 in two decades.

That would mean that Valencia Water Co. would see customer demand increase from 23,000 acre-feet a year to about 40,000, he said. (An acre-foot provides water for two households for one year.) Most of that water would be imported from Northern California, but a sizable amount would come from underground basins, DiPrimio said.

In the entire Santa Clarita Valley--which is served by four water companies--demand is projected to increase from about 57,000 acre-feet today to about 110,000 in 2020, he said. He said he did not know how much of that would come from underground basins.

That demand compares with a current water supply of 156,000 acre-feet in wet years and 92,000 in dry years, DiPrimio said.

“The [underground] basin is in good operating condition. It produces high-quality water,” he said.

Wells now in use do produce good water, acknowledged groups that appealed to the utilities commission.

But they note that some wells in the Santa Clarita Valley are polluted by a former munitions plant that has leached a toxic suspected of causing thyroid problems into the ground water.

“The important thing about this pollution is not that it’s affecting wells currently, but the state experts testified that increased pumping of the Saugus or Alluvial aquifers could spread the contamination,” Cordero said.

Joining Ventura County in its petition to the utilities commission were the Sierra Club and Friends of the Santa Clara River. Also filing a similar motion considered at the same time was the Santa Clarita Organization for Planning and the Environment.

“We’re just pleased that the PUC has recognized that there are significant impacts here on ground water and that they need to be analyzed,” said Ron Bottorff of Friends of the Santa Clara.