service agreement

Joe Naiman Writer

The Rancho California Water District board approved a new interagency service agreement with the Eastern Municipal Water District for service of the Rancho Glenoaks area.

The board’s 5-0 vote June 8 approves the new agreement for Rancho Water to convey treated water supplied through Eastern to Rancho Glenoaks. The agreement is for 20 years and revises the cost reimbursement structure of the original agreement which expired this year.

After the domestic wells in the Rancho Glenoaks area failed, the Rancho Glenoaks Homeowners Association petitioned to annex the area into the Eastern Municipal Water District and the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California in 1991. Eastern had no facilities in the area to provide that requested water service, considered potential alternatives, and recommended “wheeling” of MWD water through Eastern’s EM-13 service connection through facilities owned by Rancho Water. An interagency agreement replaced the annexation proposal. The agreement included Rancho Water installing a water service connection including a master meter with Eastern providing the funding for that along with the design and

Answers for puzzle on page B-4 construction of all facilities in the RCWD service area needed to serve Rancho Glenoaks. Eastern agreed to pay Rancho Water for the wholesale water rate Eastern charged for domestic customers, the RCWD energy costs associated with pumping the water to Rancho Water’s 2350 Pressure Zone and the RCWD monthly service charge.

The January 1993 agreement had a term of 30 years with a clause that it would end earlier if Eastern could develop delivery of a domestic water supply directly to the Rancho Glenoaks area. The agreement also noted that if Eastern still didn’t have a water supply system to the area at the end of the 30-year period Eastern and Rancho Water would negotiate a new agreement prior to terminating water service to Rancho Glenoaks. A February 2006 amendment to the agreement addressed buy-in capacity, limitations on service and construction water.

The new agreement will expire in January 2043. The new agreement also adds system operations and maintenance costs and capital facilities cost recovery reimbursement to the wholesale rate, energy costs and monthly service charge Eastern will pay Rancho Water. The additional reimbursement is anticipated to be approximately $35,000 annually.

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