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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

“SB-634 a New Governance Model for a New Era in
Santa Clarita Valley Water Management”

Introduction

Historically, residents and businesses of the Santa Clarita Valley were served by several
separate water suppliers. It was an inherently fragmented structure that from time to time
resulted in redundancies, interagency conflict and barriers to integrated regional water
management. While the region’s water suppliers provided reliable and cost-effective
water service, there was strong consensus that even greater efficiencies, effectiveness
and enhanced regional water management could be achieved on behalf of the Santa
Clarita Valley’s 350,000 residents and thousands of businesses. This fundamental truth
was the basis for pursuing Senate Bill 634 (Wilk) which created a new public water agency
for the region. This Plan for Services identifies how the integrated services will be
provided to the Santa Clarita Valley by Santa Clarita Valley Water Agency (SCV Water)
created by SB 634.

Historical Regional Water Service Providers
Newhall County Water District (NCWD) served residents and businesses in the
communities of Castaic, Newhall, Saugus, Pinetree and other areas. Castaic Lake Water
Agency (CLWA) was the region’s wholesale water provider, responsible for importing
domestic water supplies, among other responsibilities. CLWA also operated Santa Clarita
Water Division (SCWD) and owned the stock of Valencia Water Company (VWC), both
of which provided retail water service. Los Angeles County Waterworks District No. 36
(LACWD) is the final retail water service provider in the region. Collectively, NCWD, VWC
and CLWA participated in 90 percent of retail water service in the Valley.

SCV Water creates opportunities for significant economies of scale, reducing costs, and
improving integrated regional water management. There are also governance benefits: a
system where directors are elected by division in compliance with the California and
Federal Voting Rights Acts; it is easier for residents and voters in the new agency to
understand, and offers the strongest opportunity for different regions of the new
jurisdiction to obtain a strong voice on the new elected leadership.

The 3E’s: Foundational Strengths of a New Public Water Agency
The purpose of this Plan is to explain how SCV Water plans to implement the
requirements of SB 634 to provide water services to the Santa Clarita Valley. NCWD,
VWC and CLWA are focused on three fundamentals – the “3E’s” – as part of this Plan.
They are:

• Economics: Structurally, SCV Water will reduce the cost of water management
across the Santa Clarita Valley compared to the water management costs that
would arise without SCV Water.

SCV Water Plan for Services Page 1