California Water News Daily Your Source For Water News in California
The San Diego County Water Authority’s (Authority), Board of Directors announced a plan last month to distribute rebates of $44.4 million to its 24 member agencies.
The announcement comes after the Authority received a check for that amount from the Los Angeles-based Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD) to pay legal damages and interest.
The payment by MWD was a result of the Water Authority prevailing in a decade-long rate case litigation seeking to compel MWD to set legal rates and repay overcharges.
“San Diego prevailed, and the judgment not only benefits its own ratepayers but all of the nearly 19 million people in Metropolitan’s service area because enforcing cost-of-service principles serves the interest of all ratepayers,” said Superior Court Judge Anne-Christine Massullo in her Jan. 13 order, which can be appealed. The exact amount of recoverable fees will be decided later.
Member agencies will receive refunds from the Authority in proportion to their overpayments from 2011-2014. The rebates to be distributed by the Authority are:
| Carlsbad Municipal Water District | $1,692,236.88 |
| City of Del Mar | $108,025.65 |
| City of Escondido | $1,754,022.94 |
| Fallbrook PUD | $909,412.67 |
| Helix Water District | $2,847,389.34 |
| Lakeside Water District | $348,005.17 |
| City of Oceanside | $2,351,413.99 |
| Olivenhain Municipal Water District | $2,039,332.40 |
| Otay Water District | $3,162,939.58 |
| Padre Dam Municipal Water District | $1,157,551.53 |
| Pendleton Military Reserve | $4958.08 |
| City of Poway | $1167915.01 |
| Rainbow Municipal Water District | $1,343,382.03 |
| Ramona Municipal Water District | $596,663.83 |
| Rincon Del Diablo Municipal Water District | $630780.62 |
| City of San Diego | $17,676,521.64 |
| San Dieguito Water District | $368,002.41 |
| Santa Fe Irrigation District | $748,699.93 |
| Sweetwater Authority | $874,367.74 |
| Vallecitos Water District | $1,590,623.74 |
| Valley Center Municipal Water District | $1,332,417.26 |
| Vista Irrigation District | $1,571,006.35 |
| Yuima Municipal Water District | $98,149.47 |
The Authority cannot determine how member agencies will use the refunds.
