(Mission Times Courier, San Diego, CA) - Power, big money and secret meetings between agency representatives - it’s only a matter of time before the legal battle between the San Diego County Water Authority and the Metropolitan Water District hits Hollywood.
The Water Authority filed two lawsuits, one in 2010 and the other in 2012, challenging MWD’s rates, which improperly classify hundreds of millions of dollars in its water supply costs as transportation costs, according to the Water Authority. The Water Authority further believes the rates were purposely conceived to “specifically disadvantage the Water Authority,” the only agency that uses MWD’s pipelines to transport large volumes of independent water supplies.
In an effort to gain clarity, Water Authority attorneys asked MWD to produce evidence showing costs included in each of MWD’s rates and charges, the estimated sales volume on which those rates are based and whether MWD reconciles various rates with actual costs to set future rates.
Although state law requires MWD to charge rates that are reasonably related to the cost of the services provided and reasonably allocated among its member agencies according to the benefit they receive from particular services, MWD has alleged in court documents it is exempt from such a mandate.
The Water Authority is making progress in its court battle.
Most recently, Superior Court judge in San Francisco ruled May 14 the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power, a member agency of the Metropolitan Water District, had to hand over documents requested by the Water Authority under the Public Records Act more than 18 months ago. Because the court determined the withholding of the documents to have caused the Water Authority undue legal expenses in chasing down the documents, and because the Water Authority was the prevailing party in a Public Records Act action, the court also awarded the Water Authority reasonable attorney fees and costs.
The documents requested were part of an attempt by the Water Authority to learn more about covert meetings of a group of public agency managers who appeared to be coordinating votes of the MWD board of directors on water rates. These secret meetings among public agencies to decide MWD issues were confirmed by the other public agencies that produced thousands of pages of documents.
It’s the kind of cabal made for an Oliver Stone movie.
Decreasing Dependence
In 1991, San Diego County was importing 95 percent of its water from the Metropolitan Water District (MWD). Nicknamed “Mother Met” for its promise to provide 100 percent of the water 100 percent of the time, MWD threatened San Diego with a 50 percent cut in water delivery after a drought.
Although “Miracle March” rain and snow in 1991 saved the region from long-term water-delivery cuts, the dependence on MWD served as a wake-up call for the Water Authority, which began looking into ways to diversify its supply sources and invest in regional water delivery, storage and water treatment.
Thanks to the Water Authority’s efforts, in 2012 San Diego drew only 45 percent of its water from MWD and plans to further decrease MWD’s water delivery to 30 percent by 2020.
In 2003, as part of the Water Authority’s diversification strategy, it signed the Quantification Settlement Agreement (QSA), which comprises a 45- to 75-year water conservation and transfer agreement with the Imperial Irrigation District and a separate 110-year agreement to receive water conserved by lining parts of the All-American and Coachella Canals.
The QSA enabled San Diego County to receive 180,000 acre-feet of independent Colorado River water supplies this year and will increase the draw to 280,000 acre-feet in 2021.
While the QSA helped to lower MWD’s supply to San Diego, it didn’t exactly cut MWD out of the picture regarding the independent Colorado River water sources as MWD owns and operates the pipelines that deliver the water to San Diego. The Water Authority is the only agency that uses the pipelines for that delivery. As such, MWD charges the Water Authority to transport the water from Imperial Irrigation District into San Diego County, a charge the County Water Authority finds abusive.
Suing for Transparency
Despite San Diego’s decreased dependence on MWD, increased water rates are siphoning whatever good will remains between the agencies. In 2010, the Water Authority filed a legal challenge over MWD-supply rates adopted for 2011 and 2012. In 2012, MWD repeated its actions by adopting its 2013 and 2014 rates, forcing the Water Authority to file a second challenge. The two cases have since been combined in court to make the pretrial and trial phases more efficient.
The rate dispute revolves around the way MWD is charging the Water Authority for supply costs, which the Water Authority believes includes improperly classified transportation costs. The Water Authority is suing MWD in an effort to stop rate increases that would eventually cost ratepayers more than $2 billion over the next four decades.
According to the Water Authority, it seems that, as San Diego diversifies its supply sources, dropping dependence on MWD, MWD is seeking to maintain the financial support provided by San Diego through unlawful rate charges. The alleged secret meetings don’t help MWD’s case.
For its part, MWD may be stuck in the role of an unbending parent to the Water Authority, which has grown into its independence. As the Water Authority continues to grow away from MWD, it seems its only alternative for fairness may lie within the court system, where the Water Authority won’t have to continue to ask, “Mother, may I?”.
This article is the first in a series on the state of San Diego’s Water Supply.
