Lawyer Hints at Suit over Water Rates

A citizens’ taxpayer group is threatening to sue the city of San Juan Capistrano over its water rates, which it calls “arbitrary and punitive.”

Attorney Benjamin Benumof sent a letter Thursday, warning if the city doesn’t abandon its practice of charging different rates depending on the amount of water used, he will sue San Juan on behalf of an organization called Capistrano Taxpayers Association. 

“The CTA intends to file its petition in the Superior Court of Orange County in the coming weeks,” wrote the San Clemente-based attorney.

Besides the tiered-rate structure of the water bills, Benumof said the organized residents take exception to three other water-related issues:

• Residents being charged for
• Domestic water users subsidizing recycled water costs
• Local residents being forced to pay to use local water when it is less expensive to buy from a regional water provider

Benumof told Patch that under Prop. 218 – which voters passed in 1996 to change the way city governments are financed – water rates must be tied to actual costs.

“You have to look at the inequality between the tiers. No document has ever been provided that the city’s rates are based on costs to provide service,” he said.

But Keith Van Der Maaten, , disagreed. The city conducted a rate study in 2009-10, on which today’s rates are based. It called for a series of regular rate increases, including the recent 3 percent hike, and its tiered system is based on costs.

“The more water you sell, the more it costs,” Van Der Maaten said, citing the additional effort and electricity it takes to pump water beyond basic homeowner needs.

In addition, earlier this year, the Legislature passed a bill that allows agencies to set water rates to encourage conservation, Van Der Maaten said.

He added that residents are not being charged any costs for a bond that was never issued. Additionally, he said the citizen's group is calculating the costs of water incorrectly.