Voters in Fallbrook and Rainbow approved of detaching from the San Diego County Water Authority for cheaper water in Riverside County in early voting results Tuesday night.
After nearly three years of battling the Water Authority over what they say is increasingly high water rates, voters have had enough.
“It's a win for the farmers who have had to pay astronomical water rates, and they've lost so many trees and so many groves," said Eileen Delany, head of the Fair Water Rates campaign. "It's a win for the little guy. It's a win for local control, and it's a win for families that are struggling to pay their bills.”
In July, the San Diego County Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) approved the request for Rainbow Municipal Water District and Fallbrook Public Utility District to leave the Water Authority for Riverside's Eastern Municipal Water District. Detachment is a two-step process. After LAFCO's decision, voters in both Rainbow and Fallbrook would also need to approve the detachment.
This is the last time residents in Rainbow and Fallbrook can choose to leave the Water Authority without triggering a countywide vote. Gov. Gavin Newsom recently signed Assembly Bill 399, which requires that anytime a water district wants to leave the Water Authority, all voters in the county get a say in the matter. Right now, only voters in the affected district have a voice on the issue.
According to a LAFCO independent analysis, Fallbrook and Rainbow residents could save an estimated $7.7 million a year by switching water wholesalers.
"We know that the rates are going to increase, but not to the point that the San Diego County water authority is," Delaney said.
The Water Authority said by leaving, the two rural water districts would stick the rest of the county with a $140 million bill over a decade.
The Water Authority said it had invested millions of dollars in infrastructure to make San Diego more drought-resistant. Both Rainbow and Fallbrook said those investments had not benefited their ratepayers. Representatives of the 24-member agency had voted on the investment spending, though Rainbow and Fallbrook voted against some.
"Election results show that voters of two rural agencies decided yesterday to become more dependent on less reliable water," the Water Authority said in a statement to KPBS. "The Water Authority will remain focused on protecting San Diego County ratepayers as the two North County agencies seek to address numerous technical, legal, financial, and administrative issues that remain in their detachment process."
Even with the vote Tuesday, the "water divorce" is not exactly a done deal. The Water Authority is suing LAFCO, alleging the agency did not follow proper procedures before allowing Rainbow and Fallbrook to leave. It also alleges several deficiencies in LAFCO’s decision on detachment, including not doing a California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA ) analysis on Rainbow and Fallbrook leaving.
And Fallbrook and Rainbow will still need to pay an exit fee of roughly $25 million over the next five years, or about $4.8 million annually. Those costs will undoubtedly be passed down to ratepayers.
