Local Water Agencies Hail Final Ruling in Irvine Ranch Water District V. Orange County Water District

Ruling in favor of Orange County Water District prevents unfair pumping from the Orange County Groundwater Basin and protects water customers from higher rates

Orange County, Calif.; October 17, 2024 – East Orange County Water District, Golden State Water Company, Mesa Water District (Mesa Water®) and Yorba Linda Water District hailed the California Court of Appeal’s decision in Irvine Ranch Water District (IRWD) v. Orange County Water District (OCWD) et al., which will prevent unfair pumping from the Orange County Groundwater Basin (Basin) and protect millions of residents from higher rates.

Throughout the multi-phase litigation brought against OCWD in 2015, OCWD successfully defended its management of the Basin – and from an unfair attempt at a water grab – with favorable court rulings on 16 of 17 claims asserted by IRWD.

OCWD is the groundwater wholesale agency responsible for managing and protecting the Basin, a vital local resource that provides 85% of the drinking water supply to 19 cities and retail water suppliers (“Groundwater Producers”), who serve a collective 2.5 million people in north and central Orange County.

If successful, IRWD’s suit would have allowed IRWD to pump more water from the Basin at the expense of other Producers, improperly export water from the Basin; and gain an unfair advantage from a long since abandoned and illusory claim of water right.

As interested parties – and to ensure OCWD’s responsible Basin management practices remain equitable and fair to all Producers and customers served by the Basin – five of the Groundwater Producers (the City of Anaheim, East Orange County Water District, Golden State Water Company, Mesa Water and Yorba Linda Water District) joined OCWD in the litigation as real parties in interest and filed crossclaims against IRWD. The Groundwater Producers successfully argued that the relief requested by IRWD would be unfair and create water supply inequities and cost shifts whereby water costs would increase for a majority of the Basin’s water agencies (and their customers) while IRWD’s water costs would decrease.

“On behalf of our ratepayers, we celebrate the successful conclusion of this lawsuit to maintain equitable access to drinking water from the Basin and protect customers from rate volatility,” says Shawn Dewane, Mesa Water Board President.

"This decision confirms the established methodology used by OCWD to manage the groundwater basin and keeps East Orange County Water District (EOCWD) ratepayers from experiencing significant cost increases that would have resulted from changing that methodology," says EOCWD Board President, Doug Davert.

For a complete history of the lawsuit and court rulings, visit Orange County Water District (OCWD) Prevails in Irvine Ranch Water District vs. OCWD LITIGATION | Mesa Water District.