Study Urges Water District Consolidation

IRVINE — Twenty-two South County water and sewer districts could be consolidated into five larger districts and six city departments without sacrificing local accountability, delivery and control, according to a study to be released today .

The much-anticipated $150,000 study, prepared by a San Diego consulting firm, also recommends that the consolidations be done by the districts’ publicly elected directors working with a county commission--not by the Legislature, as proposed by Assembly Speaker Curt Pringle (R-Garden Grove).

The local directors would be more accountable to their constituents because only six of the 140 members of the Assembly and state Senate represent the study area’s approximately 170,000 customers, the report indicates.

Pringle has proposed a bill, AB 2109, that would create one countywide water authority out of a reorganization of 25 water and sewer agencies. The bill has passed the Assembly’s local government committee and is expected to be heard by the appropriations committee tomorrow.

The 90-page study, a summary of which was obtained by The Times, is a response to similar findings by the Orange County Grand Jury, which reported in 1994 that the myriad water-related agencies serving the county are inefficient and cause needlessly high water rates. The grand jury recommended similar district consolidations.

Although the current report agrees with the county panel that there are too many districts, there was no guarantee that a reorganization would result in lower water rates.

The study, prepared by the Ford Sauvajot Management Consultant Group for 19 agencies that call themselves the South County Issues Group, breaks the water delivery and treatment system into two components: wholesale water agencies, which sell water to other water districts, and retail agencies, which sell to the public.

The study recommends that all four of the area wholesale districts consolidate into one. It also suggests that 12 of the 18 retail districts consolidate into four districts, and that the other six should become subsidiaries of the cities in which they are located.

John Schatz, general manager of the Santa Margarita Water District and one of the co-chairs of the group, said the goal of the report was to find ways to improve service and reduce costs.

“We were looking for ways to balance the idea of one large entity versus smaller ones that have local control and accountability,” Schatz said. “We were looking for the optimal size.”

The study includes recommendations for all of the county’s independent water-related districts except the Yorba Linda Water District, the Los Alamitos County Water District, the Midway City Sanitary District, the Garden Grove Sanitary District and the Costa Mesa Sanitary District.

The study released today is the first part of a two-phase report. After comments have been recorded from the public, water district employees and directors, the consultant will compile a final report expected sometime in July.

The final report will be submitted to the Local Agency Formation Commission, the county agency that governs local district annexations and consolidations.

Times correspondent Shelby Grad contributed to this report.