DISTRICT'S FUTURE WEIGHED DOZENS SPEAK FOR, AGAINST WATER AGENCY.

Byline: Susan Abram Staff Writer

SANTA CLARITA - Whiskey, Mark Twain once wrote, was for drinking. Water was for fighting over.

But there was little more than splashes of conflict during a nearly three-hour public hearing on Tuesday, where about 50 supporters and opponents expressed opinions on whether a government agency should step in to dissolve the 5-decade-old Newhall County Water District and streamline it into another existing water agency, or leave it alone.

``I see (the Newhall County Water District) as incredibly inefficient,'' said Rick Winsman, a member of the city's Planning Commission, who spoke on his own behalf. ``Water service, like electricity and gas, is a utility and should not be used as a political tool.''

In October, the Los Angeles County Local Agency Formation Commission released a proposal that the water agency be dissolved, stating the district was redundant and unnecessary because its services overlapped with those of other water districts. The agency is a water retailer serving various noncontiguous areas in the Santa Clarita Valley.

LAFCO commissioners have said that the agency has been studied for the last five years, as their right, under the Cortese/Hertzberg act of 1999.

But supporters of the agency said Tuesday that the commission was bending toward developer and pro-growth interests in Santa Clarita, adding that the district had been the first to step up and declare that there was a limited supply of water in the Santa Clarita Valley despite what other water agencies reported.

In January, the water district approved a resolution stating that the Santa Clarita water supply may have been overestimated for years, which could result in future shortages.

The revelation, made following a district board resolution to release the facts, had split the board, with three members voting for the resolution and two dissenting. A state court of appeal backed the district.

``The people who are supporting the dismantling are going to be developers and builders, not the community,'' said Newhall resident Sally Clark. ``The Newhall County Water District was the only company that had the integrity and intelligence to say the community can't count on contaminated water.''

LAFCO Executive Officer Larry Calemine said Tuesday night it was not true the water agency was being targeted because of that resolution.

``This is nothing new,'' he said of proposals to dismantle agencies that are seen as redundant. ``There is no retaliation here.''

Some residents who live near Vasquez Canyon said the agency had long promised them water, but never provided a line. A larger agency, many said, would help them defray the costs of a water line to their homes.

Others said the dissolution of the water district should be put squarely to the voters, since the board members are elected.

Newhall County Water District employees and board members asked the commission to study the issue further, but suggested that a valleywide water agency would be more effective.

``The best solution is a valleywide solution,'' said board member Barbara Dore.

Board member Maria Gutzeit said she favored further study of the issue, but said the district already had been supportive of working with the Castaic Lake Water Agency, the valley's water wholesaler, toward completing the 2005 Urban Water Management Plan, a development tool required by state law.

The Newhall board also likely will vote in favor of an independent study it commissioned and released Tuesday, which found there was sufficient water in the valley, pending cleanup of groundwater contamination and other issues, Gutzeit said.

The Castaic Lake Water Agency, meanwhile, said it is interested in studying the Newhall County Water Agency's absorption into another agency. The agency in the past year acquired the privately held Santa Clarita Water Co., a former private retailer.

LAFCO will likely review the recommendation Wednesday.

Susan Abram, [phone]

susan.abram(at)dailynews.com