Santa Maria Times from Santa Maria, California • 10

A-10 Sunday, March 19, 2000 Santa Maria Times Lawsuit aimed at solving conflicting claims A eroup of Santa Maria Valley Important Twitchell Dates I 1JS7 First Americana settlers arrived in the Santa Maria Valley 1337 Union Sugar Company began raising sugar beets near Betteravia, using artesian wells for irrigation. 1833 A company organized to transport water by A gravity canal from the Sisquoc River to Santa Maria. Several years later a flood destroyed the diversion dam and no further efforts made to transport surface water for irrigation. i 1309 I Most damaging flood since development of I area flooded valley, with more than 1 ,000 acres of crops washed away. Other major floods occurred in 1910, 1911, 1914 and 1938.

1331 J. B. Lippincott Engineering Offices prepared first hydrologic report on Santa Maria Valley, discussing feasibility of storage reservoirs on the Cuyama and Sisquoc Rivers. 1941 Bureau of Reclamation and Barbara County initiates a coorperative contract for the Santa Maria area. 1342 Land classification survey made with a report on the Santa Maria Basin as part of the county water resourves investigation.

1949 Agreement made with the Corps of Engineers and county to investigate a joint conservation and flood control porject for the Santa Maria Basin. in 1997. The suit involved conflicting claims of overlaying, appropriate and prescriptive water rights to the basin andor its water. Santa Maria then countered with a cross-complaint claiming that the protection and conservation of the Santa Maria Groundwater Basin water is "virtually important to the health, safety and welfare of the citizens of Santa Maria." The cross lawsuit notes that Santa Maria has pumped water from the basin since the early 1900s and has done so under a claim of right. The city said it has acquired "appropriate and prescriptive rights" to the basin groundwater, as well as the right to take increased water as needed to meet future demands.

California water codes state a municipality has a prior right to basin water against all non-municipal pampers, ith water for domestic purposes the highest use of water, with the next highest use for irrigation, the city says. To provide for measurement of water taken, city officials propose jurisdiction to enforce a physical solution to those who pump water from the basin, including possible monetary assessments and metering and assessment upon basin water extraction to pay for the purchase, and delivery, of supplemental water to the basin. That translates to things like water well monitoring and well taxes for anyone using a well. In July 1999, the city submitted a settlement proposal to the district, which culminated more than two years of negotiations. The city agreed to use all of its available State Water Project water entitlement before beginning groundwater pumping; to not sell, transfer or lease any groundwater for use outside the Santa Maria Valley; to allow the landowners in the basin the continued right to extract and use groundwater from the basin for reasonable and beneficial uses after water rights are detennined and not to carry over any return flow credits from one year to another.

The city finally withdrew this settlement offer Dec. 14, 1999. when no formal response came from the district. few ml tuitite Senior Times Writer Sometime, probably not real soon, a learned judge somewhere might be able to decide who owns and controls the water under Santa Maria Valley. However, water adjudication has been a full-time task since people put down their guns and began to use restraining orders to hold their share of the most precious commodity in the West.

The battle continues. Locally, anyone with a well and 10 acres of land or more has been drawn into the fight. No resolution is in sight, although negotiations continue. The Santa Maria City Council, last week, issued a report on its most recent actions to protect the city's water rights. The mayor and four councilmen signed the March 7 report that stressed a desire for settlement with a judgment.

"However, the city would be shirking its responsibilities to its residents and all the citizens of the valley if the settlement it signs does not contain provisions that are designed to ensure sufficient water for all valley water users well into the future," the report reads. This must include both Twitchell Dam and a continued supply of State Water Project flows, the city council stated. The city's statement read that it is paying for a majority most of the two major water projects that benefit all the valley water users, despite the fact the farmers have historically used about 85 percent of it. And, the city stated that since the importation of State Water in August of 1997, farmers have virtually used all of the water extracted from the underground basin. Twitchell Dam, about 20 miles northeast of Santa Maria, is a massive water conservation dam that catches runoff.

This water is then sent down stream in the summer to refill the underground basin. The Santa Maria Valley Water Conservation District, which basically operates Twitchell Dam, filed a lawsuit against the city in regard to the Santa Maria Groundwater Basin farmerslandowners also got in the game, starting about April 2, 1999, by filing another series of cross-suit against the city, as well as the cities of Guadalupe, Arroyo Grande, Grover City and Pismo Beach, Southern California Water Company, Nipomo Community Services District, Oceano Community Services District, Casmalia Community Services District, rural Water Company, and anyone else claiming any legal oi equitable right to water from the basin. This landowner group included the Adam, Teixeira, Tognazzini and Ferini farm families. Their lawsuit explains that they hold absolute' overlaying water rights to ground water, entitling them to extract and put to reasonable and benefit usi groundwater from the basin. These rights are "superior to all other rights to water," the lawsifrt claims, countering the city's claim a superior or co-equal water rights.

The lawsuit also claims the right to storage space beneath the ground, within the basin for storage of watej and also the right to return floi waters. This lawsuit seeks title and recognition of the water rights. li also sought compensation from th2 City of Santa Maria for prescriptive and groundwater storage. Finally, at. mid-January of this year, the City of Santa Maria serveq all landowners in the near 225 square miles of the water basin; including river bed, alluvial plait and the upland mesa areas withirj Northern Santa Barbara and Southern San Luis Obispo Counties; This came after a ruling for the district, various landowners and the municipal supplies involved, all peu sons and entities pumping grountt-water from the basin must be made parties to the lawsuits.

The city, allegedly forced to serve all cross-defendants, notified an estimated 600 persons involved. Many of these people joined together to hire attorneys and it is believed many of what are termed "the small players" could be dropped from the entire action before it arrives in court. WATER: Fight sees new player DEPOT: Station opens PAST: train delighted the rest of the crow d. "It's going to be a great thing for the city," Lompoc Mayor Dick DeVV'ees said. "It's going to allow our people access to the rest of the country." Judge Tim Stalk I stixxl smiling in the sun.

"It's just fantastic," he said. "This is a long time coming. This is one of the few projects where getting the funding wasn't a problem." Staffel sat on the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors in 1993. and was instrumental, along with county architect Erich Brown, in moving the project dow the line. "It was a battle to get the money from the board (of supervisors) and the state Stalkl said.

Continued from page A-1 Congresswoman Lois Capps was scheduled to show up for opening ceremonies. Protesters said they had hoped to encourage Capps to intervene with the federal government, but she didn't appear at the ribbon-cutting. She had another commitment in her district. District Representative Ben Romo said. "What we want to do is get that Ocean Park area opened up." said John Roskoski of Surf Beach Alliance.

"If Ocean Park is let go. we'll never get it back. The county spent half a million down there improving that park. It's ridiculous. It's very name dictates ocean access." While access to the beach angered the handful of protesters, access to the Continued from page A-1 Christensen asked him who he was and what he was doing.

"I'm the chairman of the board of Union Pacific," Christensen was told. Surf Station had been open for 80 years before it was closed and operations were moved to Guadalupe, Christensen said. The last time Christensen rode the rails was a year ago, when he hopped a train to San Francisco. "1 caught the Coast and it was late because of a derailment. It happens," he said, "Nice trip, and the food qa Amtrak is delicious.

Reasonably priced, too." 'j Continued from page A-1 a long way off, if experiences and the legal questions yet to be resolved are any sign. The lawsuits and countersuits involving local water are making piles of paperwork on many desks, with lawyers aiding the fight for who has control of what ater under the Santa Maria region. Water is considered California's future gold. Those who have water can either grow crops, or grow subdivisions. Either way, the goal appears to be acquire, store and sell water to arid regions in the West.

The Santa Maria Water Basin has two ways to recharge its underground pool (Twitchell Dam and State Water) which could be an aquatic sales site. Change may be ahead for the Suey ranch, hich has been historically a cattle range held by Ncwhall from before the turn of the century. The ranch contains wine grape vineyards, citrus orchards and fanning, in addition to cattle. And there is plenty of room to expand these fanning operations, according to a fonner manager for New hall. Suey also has lots of highway frontage and also includes most of the property along Bull Canyon Road, north of Sanla Maria.

That property could open in the future to meet the growing demand for homes. Looking northwest from the banks of the Santa Maria River, at Bull CanyonSuey Crossing Road, all the land seen basically is Suey Ranch. The ranch fronts the north bank of the nver. It might also change life for the Cross of Peace project, which will hold its yearly meeting in Santa Maria March 25 and 26. This group came together more than a dozen years ago after persons saw a vision on a knoll on Suey Ranch, off Highway 166.

Repeatedly, New hall Land and Farming has denied requests and prayers from the Cross of Peace for l.uid lo place a cross, and later even a sanctuary. The ownership change could open the way for this religious project. The land anxind Twitchell Dam might also lie opened for recreational programs, including boating or hunting. Newhall rejected such proposals. Officials of the Maria Valley Water Conservation District, who operate the dam, advised Newhall in 12 that "the district has no objection to your company opening the reservoir for recreational uses." as long as the plan did not interfere ith primary ater conservation uses.

Penett's ranch, not the government, owns most of the ground that Tw itchell floods. An agreement wiih Suey Ranch allowed flooding of the ranch in exchange for the water rights, Perrett formerly ow ned Madera Ranch, a 13.600-plus acre ranch in southwest Madera County. It was proposed to be used as an underganind water bank to help quench the state's growing thirst, according to The Fresno Bee. Perrett had planned, until the spring of 1999, for a federal and state collaboration to restore the San Francisco Bay and Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta estuary in the Called Bay-Delta Program, according to Bee reporter Jim Orr. The VS.

Bureau of Reclamation was one of the players in this program, which allegedly could have developed a water bank three-quarters of the size of the Millerton Lake reservoir. This property is now owned by Azurix Corporation, which has announced plans to use it to develop an underground water storage project, as Perrett had proposed earlier. The plan would be to store when it is abundant and access it when needed in drier periods, said Rebecca P. Mark, Azurix chief executive officer. Basically, that is what Twitchell Dam does now, but above ground.

Azurix offices in Houston and London plans to store surplus water from local, state and federal customers. Azurix is a global water company that owns, operates and manages water and wastewater assets and develops and manages water resources. Perrett received opposition to his plans from local farmers and ranchers in that area. Many ranchers and farmers, including those in the Santa Maria zone, fear their own ground water will be stolen from under their land. Among those opposing the plan is Nat DiBuduo, manager of the LeRoy Properties in both the Central Valley and Santa Maria Valley.

DiBuduo, who has talked to Perrett, said he was told that Suey will be developed for agriculture. Newhall sources said Perrett told them the same thing hen buying the land. Repeated attempts to contact Perrett, at his Patterson, home and at Suey Ranch, failed. However, DiBuduo said it is obvious Perrett also could become a "water player," as he was in the Central Valley. The Wall Street Journal notes that Perrett has a link with water banking advocate Marc Reisner, author of the 1986 book "Cadillac Desert," an account of how the West has been transformed by the relentless quest for water.

This book, according to the Journal, tells an alarming tale of rivers diverted, of lakes sucked dry. of desert converted into water-hogging farmland and urban Reisner joined Perrett in the effort to transform Miidera Ranch into an underground storage facility. Twitchell Reservoir, was completed in 1958 by the Bureau of Reclamation on the lower Cuyama River, about seven miles northeast of Santa Maria. Total storage is 239 ,000 acre feet, of which 40j000 acre feet was allotted for sediment, 110,000 acre feet is allotted for water conservation and 89j000 for flood control. Dam operations and flood control allocations are prescribed by the U.S.

Corps of Engineers, ith the dam operated by the Santa Maria Valley Water Conservation District. Water stored in the conserv ation pool, below 623 feet, is released in the spring and summer as low flow into the Santa Maria river to maximize the percolation of ater into the highly permeable Santa Maria River bed to recharge the basin. In excess of 623 feet elevation, releases are operated by the corps to control down-stream flooding. Three arrested following-Death Valley siege It-ill rimii-'-int-nMWTHitm im i ii I INDEPENDENCE, Calif. (AP) Three people remained jailed on Saturday after they allegedly shot down a California Highway Patrol helicopter during a daylong standoff in a bleak Death Valley gully.

No injuries were reported during Friday's desert siege, part of an 18-hour confrontation that began when the trio allegedly fled Nevada authorities in a car filled with guns and ammunition. Arrested were Llovd M. Burrus, 44 and Chery Kate Maarteuse, 50, both of Downey, Idaho, and Jeffrey Chip Burrus. 20, of Emeryville, Calif. There was no immediate word on whether the two men were related, according to the Inyo County Shenff's Department.

The three could face chaiges of attempted murder of a peace officer and slxxting at aircraft in flight. They were being held on $250j000 each in the jail of this small eastern Sierra town, according to a sheriffs press stalertwnt. The incident began at 5:17 a m. Friday when a Nevada Highway Patrol officer stopped a 19S4 BMW on US. 95 near Lathrope Weils.

about 60 miles north of Las Vegxv The officer saw a shotgun in the car. which sped aay, acceding to a statement 'in I County Sheriff Dan Lixas. During a 70-mile chase, the1 fugitives repeatedly shot at, pursuers from the Nevada ami; California highway patrol and the Nye County, Department. The did not return fire. I The car finally left th highway near Furnace Crce in Death Valley National Park turning onto a scenic loop.

"They saw a barren desert and thought they could, drive over it," but the vast salt pan had turned to because of recent rains and; their car bogged down, said Tim Stone, a pork spokesman, After traveling about threJ miles, die trio came to the bass of the Panamint mountairr range on the park's northwestern edge, where they stopped in a gully that they barricaded ith rocks. Stone said. "They just hunkered down-fx the rest of the day. periods-' cally firing off rounds," he! said. At about 1 1:30 a.m., California Highway Patrol helicopter earning three pco-" pie was shot and damaged badly enough that it had to land, authorities said.

The crew as uninjured. The fugitives continued to shoot at police aircraft, "but the CHP helicopter was th only one they hit," Lucas Shortly before midnight; the fugitives apparently tried to sneak away under cover of darkness. lcll ft Ff ttin Ornw TtMt MlZi tin SCSL1 Warwick gets a hands on lesson about fire extinguishers from Dominic Dean during Girls Scout Safety Day at Maramonte Park in Santa Maria Saturday morning. SAFETY: Continued from page A-1 including simple tools children can use to rescue friends without endangering their ow lives. "This is an excellent way to pass on knowledge to children about fire safety," said Engineer John LaFramboise of Santa Mana Fire Department, whose daughter, Cassie, attended with Brownie Troop No.

325. "We want them to become more fire aware so instead of getting scared, they know hat to do when they sec fire." Other demonstrations included: fire extinguisher training by Los Padres Fire Protection; vehicle and bicycle safety by Jill Parry, owner of Big Tires; fire safety and fire engine tour by Sar.ta Maria Fire Department; and emergency response and ambulance tour by American Medical Response. "It's very educational for the girls." said Alicia Trigueros, leader of Brownie Troop No. 332. "They learn a lot of safety issues-that help them deal with thrr.gs in the real world" OIL: Modest proposals offered disruptions caused prices to soar this inter.

Offer tax incentives to promote energy conservation, alternative fuels and more energy efficient automobiles and homes. Provide modest tax breaks to support increased domestic production. His is far short of whjt Reput-jcars and the oil industry tax Continued from page A-1 "are causing hardship t- many Americans." But he added that "we a' so need to take a longer view" and he said he as optimistic more oil soon will be made a a.Ubie. Congress, be said, should approve pnn to: Create an emc-v -n. 2-mifliin barrel healing oil resene in f'e Northeast where supply.