Initial arguments have wrapped up in a Ventura County groundwater rights case – litigation that Camarillo officials have argued could undermine the city’s water supply.
A group of agricultural property owners called the OPV Coalition filed the lawsuit in 2021. Pending in Santa Barbara Superior Court, it seeks to determine groundwater rights in two basins that include areas in Oxnard, Camarillo, Port Hueneme, Ventura and nearby unincorporated communities.
The goal was to resolve all competing demands for groundwater in the Oxnard and Pleasant Valley basins, according to O’Melveny & Myers in Los Angeles, the law firm representing the coalition.
The case was divided into three phases, with the first to consider the amount of groundwater available to pump. Other phases involve other issues, such as groundwater rights.
While most involved in the initial phase, signed off on the same estimates, the city of Camarillo did not.
Camarillo’s attorney argued for a higher amount of groundwater in the Pleasant Valley basin. The city said its number, based on average pumping amounts and other figures, was more accurate.
The settling parties – a list that included the OPV Coalition, cities of Oxnard and Ventura, as well as several water districts – disagreed.
Their attorneys called some of the city’s evidence speculative and said Camarillo officials argued matters that should be considered in later phases, including when groundwater rights are determined.
Why did Camarillo argue against the settlement?
A trial over the first phase issues started in a Santa Barbara courthouse in mid-September and included several days of witness testimony, including from several scientists who supported the figures proposed by most of the parties.
Their attorneys described those numbers – 43,500 acre feet per year in Oxnard, and 13,750 acre feet per year in Pleasant Valley – as reasonable and supported by the science and expert analysis. None of the parties disputed figures provided for the Oxnard basin.
Camarillo, however, argued their higher estimate reflected sustainable pumping levels from the Pleasant Valley basin over several decades. It proposed 17,116 acre feet per year.
The city, which relies on imported water from Northern California and local groundwater, also had concerns that the city’s desalter would not be accounted for in a future phase of the case.
Using a mix of local, state and federal funds, the city invested in a $70 million desalter, designed to remove salt and contaminants from brackish groundwater to provide drinking water. The North Pleasant Valley Desalter, expected to reduce the city’s reliance on imported water, started supplying drinking water in 2023.
In a September letter to local, state and federal officials, the city asked for support, saying other parties in the lawsuit sought to impose limits on the groundwater available in the Pleasant Valley basin. Those limits, the city said, threaten Camarillo’s ability to use its desalter.
Oxnard officials wrote a letter in response, saying that no party in the case insisted that Camarillo cannot pump enough groundwater to operate its desalter.
Oxnard supports Camarillo’s ability to operate the facility, according to the letter, which was also sent to elected officials. That issue will be addressed in a future phase of the case, Oxnard officials said.
Who participates in the groundwater adjudication?
Tens of thousands of residents received notices about the lawsuit. After the case was filed, the documents were sent to property owners alerting them that a groundwater adjudication case was starting.
The law required anyone with property overlying the two basins to receive notice and that includes those who get their water from a residential water service provider. In this and most adjudications, the residential water providers play a major role in the case related to that type of water use.
Some of those who received the notices have wells or the right to pump water. But many may not. Anyone who wanted to participate in the case had to file a response.
What happens next in the OPV adjudication?
Attorneys filed proposed decisions for the initial phase of the case by Oct. 3, and next, the judge is expected to issue a ruling.
Camarillo officials said they will assess their options after the court rules. The city also will continue discussions with other parties to try to reach an agreement, officials said.
More information regarding the OPV Coalition is available at opvcoalition.org. The city of Camarillo has posted information about the adjudication case at cityofcamarillo.org/protect_our_water/index.php.
More information about the Oxnard and Pleasant Valley basins is available at water.ca.gov/Programs/Groundwater-Management/SGMA-Groundwater-Management/Adjudicated-Areas.
Cheri Carlson covers the environment and county government for the Ventura County Star. Reach her at cheri.carlson@vcstar.com or 805-437-0260.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Ventura County groundwater case heads to court. Here’s what to know
Reporting by Cheri Carlson, Ventura County Star / Ventura County Star
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