Water Conservation Urged Despite Deluge : Ojai basin: An agency cites drought cycles and proposes placing meters on wells. It’s the perfect time, a member says.

While Ventura County is awash in rain, the Ojai Basin Groundwater Management Agency is in the awkward position of preaching long-term water conservation of its underground water supply.

“It is ironic that the work the agency is doing coincides with all this rain,” said Ojai Mayor Robert McKinney, a member of the ground-water agency. “But if you think about it, this is the perfect time to think of conservation so we don’t get ourselves into another mess.”

Formed by the state Legislature in October, 1991, the agency is made up of five board members representing the entities that overlap its jurisdiction. The members represent the city of Ojai, the Casitas Municipal Water District, the Ojai Water Conservation District, the Southern California Water Co. and one member from one of three agencies: the Senior Canyon Mutual Water Co., Siete Robles Mutual Water Co. or the Hermitage Mutual Water Co.

Included in the independent agency’s broad sway is the authority to approve or deny all new wells and the mandate to impose limits and enact fees on water extracted from the 4,800-acre basin.

The agency recently issued a study showing that the basin was relatively full before the recent spate of winter storms dropped more rainfall to percolate underground.

Despite the good news, the agency’s board of directors has been trying to keep alive the idea of drought cycles and floating the idea of installing meters on the basin’s 78 active wells so it can monitor the amount of water drawn from underground supplies.

“Historically, we only get involved with ground water after the resource has already been trashed,” said Scott Slater, a Santa Barbara water attorney who advises the agency. “We obviously don’t want that to happen here.

“To my knowledge, this is the only ground-water management agency that has existed before there was an overdraft, and that’s a real testament to the people here,” he said.

The agency has brought with it the likelihood that farmers and other well owners will be required to pay for water that has historically been free for those with rights to pump it from the ground.

“They are undoubtedly going to impose some fee structure after they meter the wells,” said Tony Thacher, manager of the 100-acre Friend’s Ranch, which owns three active wells in the basin. “Anyone who doesn’t understand that just doesn’t understand.”

But despite the threat of annual charges of $7.50 per acre for ground water, many of the 40 people who braved a heavy rain to attend a public hearing on the ground-water study Monday night took a wait-and-see approach.

“The guys are noncommittal to the point that they want to see what we’re talking about,” said McKinney, a former general manager of the Casitas Water District. “But they do realize it’s in their best interest to keep the ground-water supply adequate.”

Both Tom Munzig, who owns the area’s biggest ranch, and Thacher threw their support behind the agency.

“The cost of the agency is fairly minimal,” Thacher said. “Of course if they decide to ration, we’ll all be crabbing, but I think the cost is beneficial and well worth it.”

Others, however, were not pleased with the extra layer of bureaucracy.

Mira Monte resident Ann L. Davis said the panel should be disbanded. “I really don’t think we need another group to make more and more regulations,” she said.