PUBLIC FORUM : WATER AGENCY CRITICS WAY OFF BASE.

The article by Sherry Joe Crosby on water management (July 22, 1996) and the Castaic Lake Water Agency, gave me a good laugh. As usual, ``Your darned if you do and darned if you don't.''

The board of the Castaic Lake Water Agency has been criticized for not creating a water management plan by the same critics in the article who are now complaining that a water management plan on the agency's July 10 agenda went too far. It's the same excuse that's been made for years, whenever a water management plan has been suggested. At least this time, these critics haven't blamed Newhall Land and Farm for stopping the Castaic Lake Water Agency from coming up with a water management plan, as they have in the past.

Any waste management plan for our area is going to have to include all sources of water, be it ground, state or reclaimed, or it isn't water management.

- Rose M. Coyle

Canyon Country

``Water wars'' are a frequent occurrence in the Southwest. Hardly newsworthy if they are not inflammatory.

This is the arid corner of the nation, and water is a critical constraint on how big - and how powerful - this corner can become.

Much of the water battle is obtuse, arcane and confusing. And, for news readers, boring.

There are hints in our entertainment about water: ``Chinatown'' was a stellar, if still confusing, example. Most often, water issues are the unreported minutes of little-known governments, escaping our attention. The price of gasoline! Now there's an issue.

As a director on an elected board to provide water to part of Santa Clarita, I find that both ironic and understandable. Ironic, because if my district cannot provide you with water, all the gasoline in the world won't slake your thirst. Understandable, because the prime focus of all water retailers in Southern California has been to ``deliver the product.'' My board - Newhall County Water District - is no exception; we deliver water. And, as long as we can make the top run, we insulate our customers, our voters, from the lights in the background.

Water companies in the Santa Clarita Valley are like arguing parents trying to hide the fight from the children. The anger, the dispute is there, but we want to act like there is nothing to be concerned about.

The arguments of the ``parents'' is that, while we now have adequate water, we may not have same in the future. In five, 10, 20 years - depending on how the SCV grows - we will have reached our limit.

Your drinking water in Santa Clarita comes from two sources: local, and imported from Northern California. The importer - the Castaic Lake Water Agency - wants to adopt an ``Integrated Water Management Plan'' to launch ``total water management'' for the valley.

To use an analogy, the husband is saying, ``I make the better paycheck, and my income is going to grow more than yours. Therefore I should have all say in family income and expense.'' The fact that the wife works is of no account, nor is the fact considered that sometimes the husband is laid off (drought halts all imported water).

The directors of the Newhall County Water District - the only local water retailer for which the voters get to directly select their board - have resisted this proposal. Why? Among other reasons, the Castaic Lake Water Agency has talked about imposing a ``pump tax.'' This would be a charge on your water bill without another drop of water delivered to you. Why? Because the Castaic Lake Water Agency's imported water is more expensive than local water. Imposing a ``pump tax'' makes them ``appear'' to be closer in price. An artificial leveling of price would allow the Castaic Lake Water Agency to sell more imported water. Another analogy would be OPEC raising the cost of domestic gasoline to meet the cost of oil from Iran.

Newhall County Water District supports good water planning. We've recently updated our Urban Water Management Plan to realistic population growth in the SCV, and we've started procedures for a groundwater management plan in our area. We have worked with other groundwater users to agree on local supplies and how much imported water we should purchase. Without an artificial tax on our customers.

Does the SCV need imported water? Yes. Should that provider of imported water dictate terms to the water retailers, and to the water customers? No.

Newhall County has asked the Castaic Lake Water Agency to allow all water retailers to be participants in understanding and formulating our ``Integrated Water Management Plan.'' We have asked to be allowed to define what the consultants should do, and how the consultants should be invited, evaluated and selected. The Castaic Lake Water Agency general manager chose, instead, to hide the terms of the proposal from the water agency's board (it's not in the budget), proposed a ``selected list of bidders,'' and is proposing an ``accelerated schedule'' on this matter.

Sorry for this intrusion. Parents are having a spat. But it involves you, too, so you should know.

- Michael Kotch

Castaic