Woodbridge Irrigation District files suit against EBMUD over water rights
The Woodbridge Irrigation District filed suit against the East Bay Municipal Utility District in the San Joaquin Superior Court on Monday, asking the court to review WID’s water rights and contracts with EBMUD.
The suit was filed after four years of negotiations between the two districts, according to WID Manager Andy Christensen, who claimed that EBMUD has been withholding water from the Mokelumne River for almost 30 years.
“Starting in 2014, we really tried to negotiate (with EBMUD). This has been going on since the late 1980s, when we had an interim agreement with them (EBMUD) that they didn’t renew,” Christensen said.
Two licenses issued by the California State Water Resources Control Board authorize WID to divert additional tens of thousands of acre-feet of water from the Mokelumne River during years that it was available, with priority dates of 1928 and 1941, according to a WID press release. WID claims that the licenses have seniority over EBMUD’s permit for the Camanche Dam and Reservoir, which was built in the early 1960s.
Shortly after the dam’s completion in 1965, WID and EBMUD agreed that EBMUD would release up to 140,000 acre-feet of surface water per year, WID stated. That agreement
“The ideal outcome is for the court to make a thorough review of the contract between the two districts, and that EBMUD will operate their dams in accordance with our senior water rights and licenses.”
ended in 1988, and EBMUD now releases only 60,000 acre-feet per year, which Christensen feels does not satisfy WID’s water needs.
“In certain years, we didn’t
“Woodbridge Irrigation District and EBMUD are partners on the Mokelumne River. We have been and will continue to be for years to come . ... We look forward to resolution and continuing our great work together on the Mokelumne.” ANDY CHRISTENSEN MANAGER, WOODBRIDGE IRRIGATION DISTRICT ALISON KASTAMA EBMUD SPOKESWOMAN
get all of the water that we’re entitled to under our licenses. The effects have been that growers have not received all the water they need. We sit on an overdrafted groundwater basin, and this has caused people to use more well water. This has created a bad situation for area farmers,” Christensen said.
The first court hearing is scheduled for July 27, where Christensen hopes that the courts will clarify WID’s water rights. He also hopes that EBMUD will operate their reservoirs and dams in a manner that respects those rights in the future, he said.
“The ideal outcome is for
the court to make a thorough review of the contract between the two districts, and that EBMUD will operate their dams in accordance with our senior water rights and licenses. This would mean that we would have more water not only for agriculture, but to help alleviate groundwater overdraft here in the northern part of San Joaquin County,” Christensen said.
EBMUD spokeswoman Alison Kastama said that EBMUD could not comment on the court filing, and offered the following statement:
“Woodbridge Irrigation District and EBMUD are partners on the Mokelumne River. We have been and will continue to be for years to come. Recent discussions of future water supply planning, including groundwater banking, have brought forth
the need for clarifications of existing agreements between our agencies. We look forward to resolution and continuing our great work together on the Mokelumne,” Kastama said.