New Study Supports Water Districts Efforts to Break from San Diego County Water Authority

Earlier this year Fallbrook Public Utility District and the Rainbow Municipal Water District officially filed “reorganization” applications the Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) to detach from the San Diego County Water Authority, citing they could save millions of dollars annually and a recent study supports that effort.

According to a study conducted by San Diego-based London Moeder Advisors, the two North County water districts have collectively paid $49.5 million more to the San Diego County Water Authority (Authority) over the past 10 years when compared to the benefits the districts received from the Authority.

“The report essentially concludes that both Rainbow and Fallbrook have become donor districts in which we have been paying the water authority above and beyond our share for use of their facilities, such as pipelines,” Tom Kennedy, general manager of the Rainbow Municipal Water District, said.

The Authority, however disagrees.

“Our analysis shows that detachment, as proposed, would reduce water reliability and increase risk for Rainbow and Fallbrook customers, create environmental impacts that haven’t been studied, and impair the successful long-term planning efforts that have served our county well. And it would give Riverside County water agencies more control over San Diego County’s water future, including water rate and property tax impacts,” said Jim Madaffer, chair of the Water Authority’s Board of Directors.

If their applications are approved, Fallbrook and Rainbow would join the Eastern Municipal Water District in Eastern Riverside County which gets its water from Metropolitan Water District.

As part of the process, LAFCO has established an advisory committee to review and analyze the applications. A vote on the proposals is expected sometime in 2021. If approved, voters in the Fallbrook and Rainbow service areas would then decide the matter.

The study commissioned by the Fallbrook and Rainbow water districts can be found at https://www.fpud.com/here-s-why-we-want-to-leave-the-water-authority.

The Authority’s formal response to the Fallbrook/Rainbow reorganization proposals and related documents are at www.sdcwa.org/lafco-reorganization.