Water Authority awaits ruling on amount of damages owed by MWD 

 

The second phase of the Water Authority's landmark rate case against the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California ended on Wednesday in San Francisco Superior Court. A tentative decision is anticipated by June, and a final ruling is expected by August.

 

A ruling in Phase 2 will determine the amount of damages the Water Authority should be awarded as a result of MWD's breach of its contractual obligation to set legal rates. The Water Authority has calculated that MWD has overcharged San Diego County ratepayers tens of millions of dollars each year since 2011. Whatever damages the Water Authority receives, its Board of Directors has already determined that the agency will deduct its litigation expenses and return the remaining money to its 24 member agencies in proportion to their payment of MWD's illegal overcharges over the four years in dispute. 

 

Phase 2 also will determine whether MWD miscalculates the Water Authority's preferential right to MWD water. Each MWD member agency has a preferential right -- or legal entitlement -- to a percentage of MWD's available water supplies based on a provision in the MWD Act. The preferential rights issue is significant because MWD has understated the San Diego region's right to purchase water by tens of thousands of acre-feet a year -- more than the annual production capacity of the $1 billion Carlsbad Desalination Project that is expected to begin commercial water deliveries this fall. 

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