SAN DIEGO — While voters in the Fallbrook Public Utility and Rainbow Municipal Water districts overwhelmingly approved measures to leave the San Diego County Water Authority, the departure faces a January court challenge.
Measure A, in the Fallbrook Public Utility District, leads 94.35%- 5.65%, 4,492-269, while Measure B in the Rainbow Municipal Water District leads 95.37%-4.63%, 4,924-239, according to figures from Tuesday's voting released by the San Diego County Registrar of Voters.
The San Diego Local Agency Formation Commission voted on July 10 to allow both districts to leave the water authority. With a goal of finding lower water costs for farmers, both districts want to join the Eastern Municipal Water District in Riverside. No timetable for the districts' departure was set.
The water authority filed a lawsuit on Aug. 21 over the proposed departure of the two water districts, alleging it will raise water rates for other county residents. A hearing is scheduled for January.
The water authority contends the departures will shift around $140 million in costs that would have been paid by the Rainbow and Fallbrook agencies to the rest of the county's service area.