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Council accepts Well No. 6; staff says Fillmore Basin rights acknowledged but not adjudicated
Summary
Council adopted Resolution 75-45 accepting Well No. 6 for the city's water system; staff noted a letter from the Fillmore Groundwater Sustainability Agency acknowledging conveyance of up to 375 acre-feet per year but said the basin is not adjudicated and formal enforcement of allocations is not guaranteed.
The council adopted a resolution accepting Well No. 6, a new addition that will allow Santa Paula to draw potable water from the Fillmore Basin for the first time under the annexation of the Limoneira property. The motion to adopt Resolution 75-45 passed with one recusal by Vice Mayor Chavez.
City staff explained that the Fillmore Basin differs from the adjudicated Santa Paula Basin: the Fillmore Basin has not been adjudicated in court, so individual allocations are not judicially enforceable. Staff said they had received a letter from the Fillmore Groundwater Sustainability Agency acknowledging that Limoneira conveyed up to "375 acre feet per year" for use and that Well No. 6 would be used to extract that water. "We have received acknowledgment ... from the Fillmore Groundwater Sustainability Agency ... that Limoneira conveyed up to 375 acre feet per year of water from the Fillmore Basin, and Well 6 will be used to extract that water," staff said.
Councilors asked whether interagency agreements with Fillmore would be required; staff said they do not expect an immediate impediment but that the city will pursue additional formal assurances as the basin's long-term management evolves. The council voted to accept the well and thanked staff for the analysis.
