The California State Supreme Court delivered an important legal victory to the Water Replenishment District of Southern California (WRD) and to district ratepayers when it rejected appeals by the Central Basin Municipal Water District (CBMWD) and the cities of Downey, Signal Hill, Cerritos, and Tesoro Oil Company challenging the court’s jurisdiction to rule on an important Groundwater Storage Plan for the Central and West Coast groundwater basins.

“The California Supreme Court’s decision is an important win for ratepayers throughout the region because it puts us back on track for the court to rule on the merits of the storage plan,” said WRD Board President Albert Robles.  “Unfortunately, these wasteful lawsuits have cost WRD and ratepayers time and money – 3 years in delays and millions of dollars in legal costs.”

In May 2009, CBMWD, Tesoro Oil Company and the three cities filed a suit opposing a 2-year state mediated groundwater storage plan created to tap into the 450,000 acre-feet of storage capacity for groundwater.  By storing more groundwater, the region could dramatically reduce the need for expensive imported water and have supplies in during seasons with low rainfall.  CBMWD is the region’s designated provider of imported water.

In 2010, a trial court concluded that it did not have jurisdiction to hear the case.  WRD and several other cities, (including Los Angeles, Long Beach, Lakewood, Torrance and Inglewood) and water companies, appealed that determination to the Appellate Court which the court reversed, finding the trial court did have jurisdiction.

In February, Downey, Signal Hill, Cerritos and CBMWD escalated their legal battle by filing a petition for Supreme Court review which was summarily denied.  In rejecting the challenges, the Supreme Court affirmed decisions made by the Appellate Courts. Among other things, those decisions overturned lower court rulings and concluded that, contrary to the arguments of the challenging entities, the court:

1. Had jurisdiction over groundwater storage, including the allocation and governance of storage;
2. Had jurisdiction to authorize the transfer of water from one Basin to the other;
3. Had jurisdiction to appoint WRD as a member of the Watermaster body outlined in the petitions; and
4. That the provisions of the California Environmental Quality Act do not apply to the petitions to amend the Judgments.

The cases now return to the Superior Court for trial on their merits.

“Five million dollars in unnecessary legal costs later, we are back where we started three years ago,” said Lakewood Public Works Director Jim Glancy. “The Supreme Court decision in the Central Basin case is an invitation to the litigant cities to stop throwing money down a legal rat hole and to join their colleagues in making the storage plan work for all groundwater pumpers. It is also an admonition to the Central Basin Municipal Water District to get out of the case altogether and to drop its costly, ill-conceived and now legally indefensible groundwater storage plan.”

Long Beach Water Department General Manager Kevin Wattier said the Court’s decision “represents a huge victory for the region and the state. Having the ability to store water in the few years when there is a surplus for use in the many years when we have drought is a way to reduce our reliance on imported water while assuring our water needs can be met.

“Two years ago,” Wattier said, “more water flowed under the Golden Gate Bridge in one week than our region uses in an entire year. Had our storage framework been in place, we could have stored much of that water here for use now when state water supplies are low.”

City of Torrance Public Works Director Rob Beste said the court’s decision in the West Basin case reaffirmed the confidence the majority of West Basin pumpers had in the storage plan in the first place. “We never understood why Tesoro and Hillside would oppose a plan that was in their best interests to support,” he said. “We hope the Supreme Court decision will encourage them to be more introspective and support the petition out of self-interest as well as for the region as a whole.”

WRD General Manager Robb Whitaker said “the Supreme Court decision was very good news for the entire state. The Central and West Coast groundwater basins have the largest unused groundwater storage capacity in any urban area of California. The basins overlie an area that encompasses 43 cities and 10% of the state’s population. Putting that capacity to beneficial use will help assure the future viability of our water supply needs for generations to come,”

The Water Replenishment District of Southern California is the regional groundwater management agency that protects and preserves the quantity and quality of groundwater for two of the most utilized urban basins in the State of California. The service area is home to over ten percent of California’s population residing in 43 cities in southern Los Angeles County. WRD is governed by a publicly elected Board of Directors which includes Willard H. Murray, Jr., Robert Katherman, Lillian Kawasaki, Sergio Calderon, and Albert Robles. For more information, please visit WRD at www.wrd.org

As we have for more than 35 years, AWWA will commemorate the occasion alongside water utilities, manufacturers, service providers, environmental advocates and others across North America. The importance of safe drinking water will be recognized through school events, public presentations and community festivals.

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“WRD is very proud of the transparent open process we followed to approve our budget, and that hard work will enable us to maintain the water rates at the current levels for another year,” said WRD Board President Albert Robles. “The 10 public workshops and public engagement with our stakeholders has proven that transparency is the best strategy for keeping water rates low for customers.”

The price of groundwater pumping, including the cost of operating and maintaining the wells, is less than one third the price of imported water. This means that the cost of groundwater continues to be the best bargain in drinking water.

Attendees of the public hearing included public officials from numerous cities, public works departments and water pumper agencies. Public speakers applauded WRD’s budgeting and outreach efforts and the Board’s decision to hold off on a rate increase.

Based on 325,851.385 gallons per acre-foot, current water rates for some local water providers show that one penny would purchase the following amounts of water:

Water Replenishment District: 13.4 gallons

Central Basin Municipal Water District: 3.6 gallons

Metropolitan Water District: 5.01 gallons

In the coming year, WRD will be using over nearly 70,000 acre-feet of locally available water instead of imported water. Shifting toward the use of local water lessens the effect of any rate increases WRD may face when purchasing imported water from the Central Basin Municipal Water District.

Despite the rate increase of 5% on imported water, WRD’s decision to keep rates the same is accomplished through reductions on expensive imported water for groundwater basin management.

WRD General Manager Robb Whitaker said “The use of recycled water and the capture and spreading of local rainfall runoff, even in low amounts, has proved to be very cost effective in reducing the need to buy increasingly scarce and expensive imported water.”

www.wrd.org

The Water Replenishment District of Southern California’s (WRD) groundwater monitoring well in the City of Bell across from the Bell Community Center, continues to insure groundwater safety for Bell residents.

In 2009, WRD worked with Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard to secure over $400,000 in federal funds for this sole project to protect water quality and to better monitor water level data in this part of the District’s 420-square mile service area.

“Three short years ago WRD secured critical funding aimed at monitoring and protecting the quality of drinking water for Bell residents. The documented success of this well project, located in the City of Bell, continues to reflect WRD’s commitment to bringing outside resources to smaller cities in our service area that might not otherwise be able to obtain infrastructure funding that keeps water safe for the public,” said WRD Division 4 Director Sergio Calderon.  “In these tough economic times, we’re proud to demonstrate how WRD’s efforts to pursue federal dollars support local projects like this one in Bell, which benefit all residents.”

The groundwater monitoring well is over a third of a mile deep, tapping into various underground water levels to provide important information on the area’s groundwater supply.  The well is part of the District’s extensive monitoring well network under WRD’s award winning Regional Groundwater Monitoring Program which evaluates the quantity of water below ground as well as the water quality to insure compliance with drinking water standards.  WRD’s network is used to analyze groundwater conditions in the Central and West Coast Basins and to protect the region’s water supply.

This information is vital as the population in California grows and costs for outside water supplies dramatically increase.  Development of groundwater storage programs can help “drought-proof” the basin as excess water is stored during wet years and pumped for use during periods of drought.  By protecting the quality of groundwater in WRD’s service area and maximizing the use of the local water supply, the WRD Regional Groundwater Monitoring Program helps reduce this region’s reliance on imported water from northern California and the Colorado River basin.

The Water Replenishment District of Southern California is the regional groundwater management agency that protects and preserves the quantity and quality of groundwater for two of the most utilized urban basins in the State of California. The service area is home to over ten percent of California’s population residing in 43 cities in southern Los Angeles County. WRD is governed by a publicly elected Board of Directors which includes Willard H. Murray, Jr., Robert Katherman, Lillian Kawasaki, Sergio Calderon, and Albert Robles.

For more information, please visit WRD at www.wrd.org

For its cumulative efforts, contributions and recycled water projects over 50 years

On March 27, 2012, the WateReuse California Association awarded the Water Replenishment District of Southern California (WRD) its Recycled Water Agency of the Year – Large Award for 2012. This selection was made by the 2012 California Annual Conference Awards Sub-Committee members and the WateReuse California Board.

WRD was proud to be one of the awardees among such distinguished agencies.

This award was publicly announced and awarded at the 2012 WateReuse California Annual Conference in Sacramento on March 26, 2012 before the conference attendees. Receiving the award for WRD were Board President Albert Robles and General Manager Robb Whitaker.

“It is a great honor for WRD to receive the Recycled Water Agency of the Year award. This award is further evidence of WRD’s leadership in developing a local, reliable and sustainable water supply that includes smart water recycling projects,” said President Albert Robles. “Our projects will have permanent and long-term benefits that greatly contribute to solving California’s water crisis,” concluded Robles.

The WateReuse Association is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to advance the beneficial and efficient uses of high-quality, locally produced sustainable water sources for the betterment of society and the environment through advocacy, education and outreach, research and membership.

The Water Replenishment District of Southern California is the regional groundwater management agency that protects and preserves the quantity and quality of groundwater for two of the most utilized urban basins in the State of California. The service area is home to over ten percent of California’s population residing in 43 cities in southern Los Angeles County. WRD is governed by a publicly elected Board of Directors which includes Willard H. Murray, Jr., Robert Katherman, Lillian Kawasaki, Sergio Calderon, and Albert Robles.

For more information, please visit WRD at www.wrd.org

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Many of the “islands” in the southern portion of the Delta, which consist of spongy peat moss material, have subsided from farming use over a century and are now 20-30 feet below the level of the rivers. A breach in these levees would cause seawater to intrude and contaminate our drinking water supply from the Delta for several years.

We need to take advantage of the Bay Delta Conservation Plan to finance the co-equal goals of restoring the Delta ecosystem and providing a conveyance facility under or around the Delta.

However, a new Delta conveyance fix will require a vote in the November General election to approve an $11 Billion Bond measure to be paid back over 30 years by the State’s General fund which is facing a $9 Billion deficit next fiscal year.  The political challenges for such a bond measure are great in light of Governor’s proposed tax increase and anticipated political opposition to the bond measure from environmentalists and Delta landowners.  Moreover, completion of a conveyance facility would still be at least a decade away.

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News of WRD's GFOA Award reaches Times Square

In recognition of its comprehensive and transparent budget process, the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada (GFOA) has awarded the Water Replenishment District of Southern California (WRD) the GFOA’s Distinguished Budget Presentation Award.

“WRD is honored to receive this prestigious award recognizing our agency’s rigorous and prudent budgetary practices,” stated WRD Board President Sergio Calderon.  “We strive to develop and implement the best fiscal oversight possible and are proud to be recognized for our hard work.”

This award recognizes the highest achievements in governmental budgeting from the GFOA and reflects WRD’s unwavering commitment to sound fiscal practices.  For the past 7 consecutive years, WRD was awarded the prestigious California Society of Municipal Finance Officers (CSMFO) Meritorious Award for Excellence budget document and process.

The prestigious GFOA budget award is based on nationally recognized guidelines for effective budget development, documentation and public presentation. These rigorous guidelines are designed
to assess how well a public agency’s budget delivers:

• A policy document
• A financial plan
• An operations guide
• A communications device

Budget documents are rated across the four categories and fourteen mandatory criteria within those categories.  Since 2005, WRD’s Finance Department has garnered more than 14 national and state awards for its exceptional finance and budgetary practices.

“This award truly reflects an ongoing commitment to continually raise the bar,” said WRD Board Treasurer Albert Robles.  “It exemplifies the District’s efforts in providing the public with greater
transparency and clarity in our budgeting process.”

For budgets including fiscal period 2010, only fifteen out of over three hundred water districts in California were recognized by the GFOA. Award recipients have pioneered efforts to improve the quality of budgeting and provide an excellent example for other governments throughout North America.

The Government Finance Officers Association is a nonprofit professional organization serving more than 17,000 government finance professionals throughout North America. The GFOA’s Distinguished Budget Presentation Awards Program is the only national awards program in governmental budgeting.

In the District’s continuing commitment to fiscal transparency and accountability, in the Fall of 2011, the Board established the WRD Audit and Budget Advisory Committee (ABAC).  Members of this
Committee will be WRD stakeholders.  This Committee was established so the Board could receive input directly from its stakeholder community relating to the two most important financial functions of the District: the annual independent audit and budget process for WRD.

The Water Replenishment District of Southern California is the regional groundwater management agency that protects and preserves the quantity and quality of groundwater for two of the most utilized urban basins in the State of California. The service area is home to over ten percent of California’s population residing in 43 cities in southern Los Angeles County. WRD is governed by a publicly elected Board of Directors which includes Willard H. Murray, Jr., Robert Katherman, Lillian Kawasaki, Sergio Calderon, and Albert Robles.

For more information, please visit WRD at www.wrd.org

Read the article in Science News>>>