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Court approves settlement of AV groundwater case

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By the Antelope Valley-East Kern Water Agency

The Antelope Valley-East Kern Water Agency received formal notification Thursday that the judge presiding over the 16-year-old Antelope Valley Groundwater Adjudication case has approved a Stipulated Judgment, clearing the way for groundwater management.

AVEK Director Rob Parris, who also served on the agency’s ad hoc Adjudication Committee, said San Jose Judge Jack Komar’s decision is good news for the Antelope Valley, ending years of uncertainty over the region’s prospects for economic growth. Parris added, “The judgment allows us to protect our water basin and make sure water is used in a responsible way.”

Judge Komar’s oral statement of decision, issued from the bench on Wednesday, is the stipulation that AVEK, which was not a defendant in the case, and nearly every other party has agreed upon. Parris explained, “We joined the action to protect our taxpayers. AVEK worked very hard to get all the parties together to reach this point in the adjudication agreement.”

AVEK Director Frank Donato, who chaired the Adjudication Committee and was involved from the beginning of the agency’s intervention in the case, said, “This was a historical decision, a decision that was needed.” He said AVEK can now work to help groundwater pumpers extend their supplies in the future. He said AVEK is positioned with the facilities to put imported water into the ground to assure water quality and supply.

Following procedural requirements, Judge Komar will draft a formal written decision, which opens a window to appeals, but also immediately activates the creation of a five-member Water Master Board of Directors to unanimously appoint the AV Water Master, an engineer responsible for monitoring the water basin to assure that no more water is pumped out than the basin can sustain without falling back into overdraft.

AVEK Director Parris said AVEK, L.A. County Waterworks District 40 and a public water utility will each have one seat on the board, with two seats to be occupied by landowners. He said the Water Master appointment will be critical in the fair and equitable administration of the Judgment.

Parris explained that the Water Master will have authority to assess parties who exceed pumping limits to pay for replacement water from the State Water Project.

Attorney Bill Brunick, who represented AVEK in the case, said, “I believe the entire credit should be given to staff, the Board, and the ad hoc Adjudication Committee for moving this along. Without AVEK’s involvement we would be in for another five years.”

The Antelope Valley Groundwater Adjudication case was launched Oct. 29, 1999, when Diamond Farming Co. sued the cities of Lancaster and Palmdale, the Palmdale Water District, AV Water Company, Palm Ranch Irrigation District, Quartz Hill Water District, Rosamond Community Services District and Mojave Public Utilities District. In 2001, Bolthouse Farms sued all the water providers named in the 1999 complaint, and added Littlerock Creek Irrigation District and L.A. County Waterworks districts 37 and 40.

In 2006, AVEK entered the picture by filing for declaratory and injunctive relief to protect its overlying rights and rights to pump the supplemental yield from imported state water.

The Antelope Valley-East Kern Water Agency encompasses 2,300 square miles and includes over 20 municipal users, as well as Edwards AFB, Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale and Rio Tinto in Boron.

Formed in the early 1960s to provide supplemental supplies from the California Aqueduct, AVEK contracted with the state for up to 144,844 acre-feet a year.

In a normal year, of the 144,844 acre-foot annual entitlement, the municipal and industrial, and agricultural water customers are currently using about 60,000 acre feet per year. Municipal and Industrial water is provided by four potable water treatment plants with capacities from 4 to 90 million gallons per day.

AVEK is the third largest State Water Project (SWP) Contractor in the State and, in cooperation with the other water wholesalers and retailers in the Region, has analyzed the most suitable locations and methods for water storage. Based on those studies, groundwater basin banking was found to be the most appropriate and efficient storage mechanism. The need for groundwater storage is expected to increase significantly in the near future as a result of the adjudication of the Antelope Valley Groundwater Basin.

For more information on this Antelope Valley-East Kern Water Agency, visit http://www.avek.org/.

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Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect the views of The AV Times.

Filed Under: Opinion

14 comments for "Court approves settlement of AV groundwater case"

  2. Can anyone explain why AV water table went up during the 4 year drought. AV water table is bigger then Lake Tahoe we will never run out of water. People don’t ever buy into there being a water drought problem in AV!

  3. i can’t wait until the next shoe drops that there’s going to be a dramatic increase of solar power plants that yes, are very eco-friendly, but are also water guzzlers. I’m sure Mayor McCheese is going get some major kick-backs from those guys to line his pockets with, and once again, the AV will go “what the heck?” as he laughs all the way to the bank….

    • Did you see all the dirt blowing at the solar field out in the far west valley? Marv doesn’t think dirt in the air is pollution but scientists will disagree. More dirt pollution to come as Rex and Marv rip apart our beautiful valley in their farcical quest to become net zero. Burlington Vermont already got their without destroying the environment.

  4. Perfect timing for a rookie to get just enough “water experience” to be appoints a member of “the water master”. It’s all about the water. Go Ron Smith!

  5. here is another board that rex parris has his claws in. brother rob is the chair. don’t think for a minute rob can say or do anything without rex’s permission. it must be a tortured life having to be a puppet for someone. marv crist knows the feeling all too well.

    • my thoughts exactly… i can’t believe he could appoint his brother to be his stooge so blatantly like that and the city attorney (who’s also probably on the payroll, too) hasn’t called him on it.

      your tax dollars at work!

    • When you live in an area where water must be imported, there is a cost involved. Air, unlike water, does not have to be imported unless you plan to live on top of Mount Everest. You’d probably want to import some oxygen.

      • If the powers that be did not damn rivers and channel streams, we would not only spend our whole days looking for food, we would be spending days going to the water sources. Now, we work for them in control of the water, the oil, more like getting us dependant on things that uses oil, the money, the direction and speed of conscience development.