WATER FOR 2,000 HOMES RULING PAVES WAY FOR NEW DEVELOPMENTS.Byline: Heather MacDonald Staff Writer SANTA CLARITA - There is enough water to supply about 2,000 new homes in the Santa Clarita Valley The Santa Clarita Valley is the valley of the Santa Clara River in Southern California. It stretches through Los Angeles County and Ventura County. Its main population center is the city of Santa Clarita. The valley was part of the 48,612-acre (19,672. each year for the next 20 years, a Ventura County judge ruled Wednesday. Judge Richard J. Oberholzer upheld the findings of the Urban Water Management Plan, which was compiled by the Castaic Lake Water Agency, Valencia Water Co., Santa Clarita Water Co. and the Newhall County Water District. ``We're pleased that the judge saw that we met both the letter and the spirit of the law in crafting our report,'' said the CLWA CLWA Chip-Level Weibull Analysis CLWA Children living with AIDS (Lancaster, OH) General Manager Dan Masnada. The report had been challenged by Ventura County and two environmental watchdog groups, the Friends of the Santa Clara River Santa Clara River may refer to:
tr.v. o·ver·stat·ed, o·ver·stat·ing, o·ver·states To state in exaggerated terms. See Synonyms at exaggerate. o the amount of available water and fueled urban sprawl. ``There simply isn't enough water in that valley. Period,'' said Gordon LaBedez, conservation chairman of the Angeles chapter of the Sierra Club. The lawsuit asked Oberholzer to order the water agencies to redo To reverse an undo operation. See undo. the report with a more realistic outlook and more accurate numbers. Attorneys for Ventura County, who did not return a phone call seeking comment, argued in court that the report underestimated the Santa Clarita Valley's increase in population by 55,000 households and overestimated the amount of available water. The ruling removes the uncertainty swirling around several large development projects that are counting on the CLWA to provide water for the new homes, including the 21,600-home Newhall Ranch, Masnada said. ``We're confident that the report paints an accurate picture of the Santa Clarita Valley's water supply,'' Masnada said. The Urban Water Management Plan projects a 20-year supply for the Santa Clarita Valley from a variety of sources, including entitlements from the state Water Project, the Saugus and alluvial aquifers, recycling and stored groundwater. Critics of the water agencies contend that much of that water is available only on paper because it counts on the full entitlement of state water, which the CLWA does not receive every year, and programs such as groundwater banking that have yet to be implemented. In addition, critics are concerned that relying on the aquifers is risky because pumping could spread pollution state officials believe is leeching into the groundwater from a defunct munitions mu·ni·tion n. War materiel, especially weapons and ammunition. Often used in the plural. tr.v. mu·ni·tioned, mu·ni·tion·ing, mu·ni·tions To supply with munitions. factory. |
|
||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion