Countywide : Suit Accuses District of Siphoning Water

A county water supplier has filed suit against a neighboring water purveyor that it claims is siphoning some of its reclaimed water from a Thousand Oaks sewage-treatment plant.

The Pleasant Valley Water Works District filed suit against the Camrosa Water District on Monday in Ventura County Superior Court, officials said.

Pleasant Valley charges in the suit that a Camrosa ground water well dug in March near the Arroyo Conejo in the Santa Rosa basin is drawing reclaimed water that flows along the Arroyo from the sewage treatment plant, according to court documents. Pleasant Valley has a contract with Thousand Oaks to purchase reclaimed water from the city’s Hill Canyon Waste Water Treatment Plant. The water is sold to farmers for irrigation.

“We’re not siphoning water,” said Camrosa General Manager Gina Manchester. She further noted that several individuals had recently dug wells in the same area and that they have not been sued. Pleasant Valley officials could not be reached for comment.

Manchester said her staff is consulting with Camrosa’s attorneys to determine how they will respond.

The city of Thousand Oaks filed a lawsuit in September, demanding that Camrosa conduct an environmental impact report on its operations.