Also serving the communities of De Luz, Rainbow, Camp Pendleton, Pala and Pauma

Eastern can meet water supply needs of Fallbrook and Rainbow, according to preliminary report

FALLBROOK – Leaders from the Fallbrook and Rainbow water districts say a preliminary independent report released this week indicates what they’ve been saying all along – that the Eastern Municipal Water District can meet their water supply needs if their proposals to switch to Eastern are approved.

The report also indicates that in a worst-case scenario, both Eastern and the San Diego County Water Authority, which Fallbrook and Rainbow are seeking to leave, would rely on imported supplemental water from the Metropolitan Water District.

“By purchasing our water from Eastern instead of the Water Authority, not only would our customers save money, they can count on a reliable supply of water well into the future,” said Jack Bebee, general manager of the Fallbrook Public Utility District.

“An affordable and reliable supply of water is critical to our customers, especially our agricultural community,” said Tom Kennedy, general manager of the Rainbow Municipal Water District. “The report confirmed what we’ve known all along – that Eastern has the wherewithal to supply our districts with the water we need.”

The report was conducted for the San Diego Local Agency Formation Commission, or LAFCO, which is tasked with determining boundary issues, and will ultimately vote on whether FPUD and Rainbow can change water wholesalers.

Instead of continuing to purchase their water from the County Water Authority – which has raised water costs on the districts by an average of 8% each year over the past decade – the districts have submitted applications to LAFCO to become wholesale water customers of Eastern. If the applications are approved, ratepayers in Fallbrook and Rainbow would see their water costs reduced by $7-10 million a year.

Eastern, which was established in 1950, provides water to more than 850,000 people living and working in Riverside County. It supplies water to the cities of Temecula, Murrieta, Perris, Menifee and several other cities and unincorporated communities.

To further bolster water reliability in Fallbrook, FPUD is set to open a new water treatment facility this summer, which will provide the community with its first local water supply. The Santa Margarita River Project, as it is known, will generate 50% of the district’s water supply by year’s end. The facility will reduce the district’s reliance on imported water, and the water produced there will be less expensive than water purchased elsewhere.

According to a study last year by London Moeder Advisors, FPUD and Rainbow have overpaid nearly $50 million to the Water Authority over the past 10 years when compared to the benefits they have received.

The study also concluded that if FPUD and Rainbow were to change water wholesalers, the financial impact on the remaining county ratepayers would be minimal – about 50 cents per month per water meter. This amount pales in comparison to the financial impact of other local supply projects that are about to come on-line, including ones in San Diego, Oceanside, and the Padre Dam/Helix Water District.

LAFCO, which is governed by local appointed and elected officials, is expected to vote on the applications later this year. If approved, FPUD and Rainbow voters would have the final say in an election held in each of the two districts’ service areas.

In addition to saving FPUD and Rainbow ratepayers millions of dollars a year, the move to Eastern would also protect those ratepayers from paying for costs related to the Water Authority’s controversial and unnecessary $5 billion, 130-mile pipeline and canal project known as the Regional Conveyance System. The proposed project is opposed by 18 of the county’s 24 water districts because of its exorbitant cost and the fact that it would not deliver any new water to San Diego County.

Submitted by Fallbrook Public Utility District and Rainbow Municipal Water District.

 

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