WHY IT MATTERS
If the Orange County Water District fails to persuade the courts to require industrial landowners to pay for the cleanup of what the OCWD says are moving plumes of groundwater contamination, the cost of multi-decade cleanup projects could be passed on to the 19 municipalities and special districts to which OCWD supplies groundwater. The OCWD currently assesses those districts $276 per acre-foot of water; the cost of cleanup could increase that assessment by $230 per acre foot over a period of years, the OCWD says. The 19 districts would likely pass along the added cost to retail users ? residents and businesses.
However, some property owners, who have already spent millions to clean up contamination under the direction of other government agencies, have questioned the OCWD's right to sue them. So far, the courts have mostly sided with the property owners.
