The developer of the massive Newhall Ranch project released the findings of a new environmental report Monday that declares it has access to enough water to supply the 22,000-home suburb planned near the Ventura County line.
Newhall Land and Farming maintains in the report that 17,000 acre-feet of water would come from the State Water Project, ground water supplies, reclaimed water from the development site and purchases from a private water company in Kern County. Additional water would be stored in an underground aquifer for dry years.
"We have more than enough water to serve Newhall Ranch," said Newhall spokeswoman Marlee Lauffer.
Newhall Ranch--A story in Tuesday's California section inaccurately stated that the developer of the Newhall Ranch project would purchase 1,600 acre-feet of nonpotable water from the Nickel Family LLC, a private purveyor in Kern County, for residents of the proposed development. In fact, the water would be potable, supplementing the 7,000 acre-feet of drinking water the developer now draws from its own ground-water wells.
But Lynne Plambeck, president of the Santa Clarita Organization for the Preservation of the Environment, criticized Newhall for relying on a private company -- the Nickel Family LLC -- for 1,600 acre-feet of its water supplies. An acre-foot is 326,000 gallons, enough water to supply two average families for a year.
Plambeck said she fears the deal could usher in an era of water privatization in which the richest developers would reap the benefits. "The highest bidder can destroy whatever watershed to create urban sprawl," she said.
The supplemental environmental impact report will be presented to the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on Jan. 28. If the board approves the report, a Kern County judge will then decide whether the project can move forward.
The new report was ordered by Kern County Superior Court Judge Roger D. Randall in 2000 following a legal battle between Los Angeles and Ventura counties. The case was moved to Kern County to avoid potential legal conflicts.
Ventura County sued to block the project, arguing that the initial environmental study was flawed because the developer had failed to prove it could acquire enough water from the State Water Project and an underground storage aquifer during multiple drought years.
The development site is just across the line from eastern Ventura County, near Six Flags Magic Mountain. Its 12,000 acres straddle the Santa Clara River, the region's last free-flowing river.
Ventura County officials worried that the project, which would be built out over the next 25 years and ultimately serve nearly 70,000 people, posed a significant threat to ground water supplies and sensitive wildlife habitat. They urged Randall to overturn approval of the project.
