Irvine Ranch sues Orange County Water District over groundwater policy
The Irvine Ranch Water District has sued the Orange County Water District, alleging that the manager of the county groundwater basin is not giving Irvine Ranch credit for its recycled water program and is costing ratepayers there millions of dollars in fees.
The lawsuit, filed June 17 in Orange County Superior Court, says Irvine Ranch produces significant amounts of recycled water and that ratepayers are being unfairly assessed to the tune of $2 million this year.
Irvine Ranch has about 110,000 service connections over a 181-square-mile area that includes Irvine and portions of Costa Mesa and Tustin.
The complaint contends that if OCWD gives Irvine Ranch its due credit, the Irvine district would be able to pump more water, at lower cost, out of the groundwater basin.
In a scenario it calls “contrary to sound policy and logic,” the lawsuit says that under OCWD’s current policy, if Irvine Ranch bought more imported water instead of using its recycled water systems, it could actually pump more out of the basin without paying additional assessments to OCWD.
“That additional assessment increases [Irvine Ranch’s] cost of using local groundwater, which unfairly shifts the value of [the district’s] recycled water program” away from district ratepayers, the lawsuit states.
“While IRWD is still hopeful that discussions with OCWD will resolve the issue, we believe that this lawsuit is needed now to facilitate a change in OCWD policy, to preserve the benefits of IRWD’s investments in its recycled water system and to protect IRWD customers from additional costs imposed through higher rates,” the district said in a statement on its website.
OCWD General Manager Mike Markus declined to comment Friday, saying his district has not been served with the lawsuit.
However, Paul Shoenberger, chairman of the Orange County Groundwater Producers Group — whose 19 members in northern Orange County, including Irvine Ranch, pump from the groundwater basin — called the lawsuit a “water grab.”
Shoenberger, who also manages the Mesa Water District in Costa Mesa, pointed to an independent study that says nearly all of the 19 groundwater users stand to lose if Irvine Ranch gets its way.
“Everyone else in Orange County is going to get less water at more cost,” Shoenberger said. “Irvine Ranch has avoided an open and transparent debate on this policy and has gone straight to a lawsuit.”
The study, commissioned in 2015 by the producers group and conducted by Fountain Valley-based Richard Brady and Associates, says that if Irvine Ranch wins the suit, it stands to pay $3.3 million less annually for 5,776 more acre-feet from the basin.
Shoenberger noted that Irvine Ranch is the only district of the 19 that doesn’t contribute all of its sewage flows to the county sanitation district for treatment and eventual placement back into the basin. He alleged that Irvine Ranch is “double-dipping” because it wants more water from the basin despite not contributing much to the basin’s supply.
According to the study, Mesa Water could benefit from Irvine Ranch’s lawsuit by saving $200,742 annually and receiving an additional 351 acre-feet of water.
Despite that, Mesa Water’s vice presdent, Ethan Temianka, said his agency stands alongside the Orange County Water District.
“Irvine Ranch Water District is suing to gain unfair access to more low-cost groundwater at the expense of other cities and water providers,” Temianka said in a statement. “Even though Mesa Water is one of two entities [the city of Fountain Valley is the other] that could marginally benefit if Irvine Ranch wins, we do not support this litigation. We think this issue should be discussed openly and transparently in a public forum before the community and impacted stakeholders.”
According to the study, the city of Newport Beach would pay $65,267 more for 114 less acre-feet of water per year. About 20% of Newport’s population — primarily in Newport Coast — is served by Irvine Ranch. Another small portion is served by Mesa Water. The remainder is served by the city.
“Now that the suit has been filed, we just have to wait and see,” said Newport’s municipal operations director, George Murdoch.
Anaheim has the most to lose, according to the study, because it could pay an additional $905,865 annually and receive 1,584 less acre-feet of water.
According to the lawsuit, Irvine Ranch has invested an estimated $650 million in recycled water programs since the 1960s. Its recycled water comes from sewage wastewater that is treated to usable levels and then transported back into the district’s service area for irrigation and industrial purposes.
Irvine Ranch has the capacity to produce nearly 35.5 million gallons of recycled water per day, according to the lawsuit. In the 2014-15 fiscal year, 23% of the district’s total water usage was from recycled sources and 58% was from the groundwater basin and native streams. The remaining 19% was imported.
Daily Pilot staff writer Hannah Fry contributed to this report.
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Bradley Zint, bradley.zint@latimes.com
Twitter: @BradleyZint
