Water districts use legal win to help customers
Two East County water agencies plan to reduce future water rate increases by using millions of dollars they received from the County Water Authority as part of a legal settlement.
The Water Authority announced a plan Feb. 25 to distribute $44.4 million to its 24 member agencies — including the Helix Water District and Padre Dam Municipal Water District — after receiving a check for that amount from the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. A San Francisco Superior Court ruled in favor of the Water Authority in January in two lawsuits against Metro challenging rates and charges.
The money is for legal damages and interest from the decadelong rate cases. The Water Authority filed lawsuits between 2010 and 2018 over water rates and overcharges on imported water.
The Water Authority sent a portion of the damages received to member agencies based on each agency’s overpayments from 2011 to 2014. The Helix Water District received $2.8 million, while Padre Dam got $1.15 million.
Other rebates for local agencies include nearly $17.7 million to the city of San Diego, $2.35 million to the city of Oceanside, $2 million to the Olivenhain Metropolitan Water District, $1.75 million to the city of Escondido, $1.7 million to the city of Carlsbad and nearly $1.6 million to both the Vista Irrigation District and the Vallecitos Water District. The Otay Water District, which also serves some East County residents, received nearly $3.2 million from the litigation.
“This issue directly impacted Helix and our customers,” said Helix General Manager Carlos Lugo. “Our board is really pleased that the Water Authority recovered the overcharges and is returning the money so that we can return it to our customers, by reducing future rate adjustments.”
Earlier this month, Padre Dam’s board of directors unanimously approved using settlement funds to offset the district’s next rate increase from the County Water Authority (expected in January) by either reducing it or potentially eliminating it in 2022.