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MONTEREY PENINSULA WATER MANAGEMENT DISTRICT BOARD

Posted on Sun, May. 02, 2004

T H E H E R A L D ' S V I E W

Water district should oversee developments

As the manager of water resources within its boundaries, the Monterey Peninsula Water Management District has a vested interest in the potential environmental impact of the largest housing development under way within its boundaries. However, the owners of the exclusive Monterra and Tehama housing developments don't think they should be subject to district oversight, and they're trying to "detach" their land from the district. Tehama's owners are Clint Eastwood and his former wife Maggie Eastwood; Monterra is owned by Roger and Basil Mills.

The property owners say they shouldn't be part of the district because their rights to the water predate those of the California American Water Company, according to Alan Williams of Carmel Development Co., which designed the communities. Greatly simplified, the argument goes like this: Since the water district was created to correct the water deficit, and overpumping of the river by Cal-Am caused the overdraft problem, the owners of Tehama and Monterra shouldn't be part of the district because they had nothing to do with the problem.

The arguments quickly become highly technical, and we don't presume to understand the intricacies. As a practical matter, however, the proposal wouldn't seem likely to be in the best interests of the Carmel Valley watershed and Monterey Peninsula community.

Essentially, the developers are asking the Local Agency Formation Commission to cut a hole in the middle of the water management district. Doing so would compromise the district's ability to manage water resources as an integrated whole. Since all the water resources within the district are under various levels of stress, it makes sense to manage them as a unit comprised of many interrelated parts.

If the Eastwood and Mills families prevailed, then other property owners would try to use the same escape hatch. That's because complying with district regulations and paperwork can be onerous, time-consuming and costly. Williams acknowledges that a half-dozen other property owners might be able to make similar claims.

Williams claims the water management district duplicates work done by the state water resources board and other state and local agencies. To some extent he's right -- there is some overlap. However, only the Monterey Peninsula Water Management District engages in comprehensive management of the water resources in its midst, and continuing its oversight of a major development seems wise.