KEY WATER HEARING SET FOR RETURN.

Byline: PATRICIA FARRELL AIDEM Staff Writer

SANTA CLARITA -- A day after city and county officials complained that a hearing on a water quality issue -- one that could quadruple local sewage rates -- had been moved from Santa Clarita to Simi Valley, the state water agency did an about-face.

A hearing to determine a limit on chlorides in treated sewage was switched Friday from the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board's July meeting in Simi Valley to Aug. 3 in Santa Clarita City Hall, said Jon Bishop, executive director of the water board.

``We pulled that item because of the timing,'' Bishop said. ``We wanted to have enough time for the board to hear the concerns of the public.''

The Daily News reported Friday that officials with both the city of Santa Clarita and the Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts serving the area protested when they learned the July meeting, originally planned in Santa Clarita, was switched to a location 30 miles away.

Friday's action came as good news, said Travis Lange, Santa Clarita's environmental services manager.

``That's what we want. We want them to come here,'' Lange said. ``This is important. It has huge ramifications for the community.''

The water board is pushing a limit on chlorides -- linked to the salt in water softeners and found in water piped from Northern California -- and the necessary treatment could cost residents some $400 a year more on their property tax bills. The funding would pay for desalinization systems at treatment plants in Saugus and Valencia.

Agricultural interests in Ventura County, where treated waste water flows from those plants, are pushing for a lower chloride rate to protect their crops.

Bishop said his agency sought a larger venue for the July meeting -- Simi Valley City Hall has 33 more seats than Santa Clarita's 150-seat council chambers. Santa Clarita had secured the 800-seat Hart High School auditorium for the hearing, but Bishop said a school hall would not be appropriate even though Hart has hosted similar forums for the city.

Items on the July agenda include hearings on amendments to municipal storm water permits, a plan amendment for the maximum daily load of metals allowed in the San Gabriel River and an issue involving permits for municipal water districts. None of those items would draw large numbers from the public, but will attract stakeholders and public officials, Bishop said.