The California Sixth District Court of Appeal found that the Metropolitan Water District has been overcharging the San Diego Water Authority and its rate payers for service.
The Metropolitan Water District under calculated the water authority’s water rights by about 100,000 acre-feet of water annually, according to Dennis Cushman, the water authority’s assistant general manager.
The high rates have amounted to millions of dollars over four years. Cushman said the stakes over the initial 45-year term of the water transfer are as high as $7.4 billion.
Cushman called the victory decision a victory of both water rates and water rights for the authority’s 3.3 million residents.
“The net amount of overcharges we recover as damages from Metropolitan Water District, minus any unrecovered legal expenses, will be refunded to our 24 member retail water agencies and cities in direct proportion to their share of the overcharges,” he said.
Read the original story on the Northern California Record website.