STATE AGENCY OKS PLAN USING TAINTED WATER CORPS OF ENGINEERS EXPECTS TO FINISH CLEANUP IN JANUARY.

Byline: Kathleen Sweeney Staff Writer

VALENCIA - A water management plan that relies in part on a tainted water supply was approved Thursday by the state Public Utilities Commission.

The commission unanimously approved Valencia Water Co.'s plan, allowing it to expand its boundaries to serve several new housing developments, including the North Valencia II and West Creek projects.

But another state agency claims the plan isn't accurate and is misleading by saying the cleanup of perchlorate in the groundwater is ``substantially under way,'' and overlooks a significant issue regarding the spread of the by-product of rocket fuel or ways to remedy it.

A plan for that cleanup is expected to be completed in January, a spokesman for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said Thursday.

The Department of Toxic Substances and Control, monitoring the cleanup, gave the commission a statement Nov. 19 urging it not to approve the plan and to perform an environmental review that analyzes its impacts.

``As of this date, work to delineate the extent of the contamination plume or identify either migration pathways or the source areas has not been completed,'' the statement said. ``Consequently, the remediation has not yet begun.''

The commission, however, voted Thursday to allow the company to supply 6,020 new customers living in homes planned along the banks of the San Francisquito Creek, as well as Rio Norte Junior High School.

``After review of the (Water Management Plan) in conjunction with (advice letters), the commission concludes that the water supplies that the WMP demonstrated to be available provide an ample margin of safety to allow Valencia to serve new customers to the extent contemplated by (the advice letters),'' the ruling said.

Robert DiPrimio, president of Valencia Water Co., said the Santa Clarita water companies are working together to remediate the problem.

``The perchlorate problem is something that we are diligently working on we seek to work with the DTSC and the Army Corps to maintain our water supplies in the Santa Clarita Valley,'' he said.

While the water company continues to work on a plan for the cleanup, the commission's ruling ensures no further delays for the much needed junior high school.

``The commission ruled that the Valencia Water Co. has ample water supply to serve the developments in Valencia, including the Rio Norte Junion High School,'' DiPrimio said. ``We are very pleased and we will continue to operate our system in a way that provides reliable service to our customers.''

Sierra Club and Ventura County officials had challenged the expansion, saying there wouldn't be enough water to serve new residents in the North Valencia II, West Creek, Tesoro de Valle and Mountain View projects. Those residents would use about 5,000 acre-feet of water a year, officials said. An acre-foot is enough to supply two average families for a year.

The groups also claimed those projects would deplete water supplies downstream if Valencia Water Co. relies on water from a shallow alluvial aquifer that roughly follows the Santa Clara River and the deeper Saugus Formation.

The Saugus Formation isn't being pumped at full capacity because of the perchlorate contamination, but Valencia Water Co. is relying on full service to supply these projects.

The PUC rejected those arguments and determined that Valencia Water Co. has twice the amount of water needed to meet the demand.

Lynne Plambeck, first vice president of Santa Clarita Organization for Planning the Environment, said the commission didn't review the statement by the DTSC, and the ruling will be challenged.

``It's a wrong decision, and it's one that is really going to hurt our community,'' she said. ``The commission obviously didn't review it in detail.''