The San Diego County Water Authority announced Thursday it has agreed to drop all litigation and allow the rural Rainbow and Fallbrook districts to leave the country system in exchange for an immediate $25 million payment.
The two agricultural districts will get lower-cost water from the Eastern Municipal Water District in Riverside at the potential risk of a less-reliable supply. The Riverside district relies on the Colorado River and has not invested in desalination and water recycling as has occurred in San Diego.
Voters in the two districts overwhelmingly approved “detachment” in a special election in November.
The water authority said the settlement avoids expensive litigation while minimizing the impact on San Diego County’s 3.3 million residents.
“While the majority of SDCWA’s remaining 22-district membership remains opposed to detachment, they agree that this settlement makes the best of a bad situation,” said Mel Katz, chairman of the water authority board.
He said the two districts are required to pay all costs, above the amount ordered by the Local Agency Formation Commission, in addition to its entire exit fee up front, so there will be no immediate impact on water rates.
The two districts also agreed to pay all costs related to the decommissioning of water authority facilities that will not be used and hold the water authority harmless against any future claims.
Detachments will be less likely in the future because Assembly Bill 399, which takes effect in January, requires a vote by an entire water region, not just individual districts.