Camarillo Files Water Rights Case With CA Supreme Court

The City of Camarillo filed a reply brief with the California Supreme Court this week asking for immediate review of a groundwater dispute affecting the Oxnard and Pleasant Valley basins.

The OPV Coalition, a group of large agricultural landowners, sued in 2021 seeking pumping allocations from the basins. Camarillo contends those allocations would reduce water available to cities and raise costs for residents and businesses.

United Water Conservation District opposes the Supreme Court review, a stance Camarillo says would extend litigation by years. Groundwater adjudications typically take 15 to 20 years to resolve. This case is already five years old.

Camarillo challenges United's reliance on outdated groundwater modeling that the district's own expert later acknowledged was flawed. The city argues that delaying court review would lock in those flawed assumptions and shape regional water policy for decades.

United has aligned with the Coalition on determining water amounts available in the basins. Current rulings could dictate water access and pricing for decades.

"We are asking the Court to address these critical issues now," Mayor David Tennessen said. "United's position would delay that clarity and force our residents and businesses to bear the consequences of prolonged litigation."

Camarillo maintains that early Supreme Court review is necessary to ensure state groundwater management laws and water quality standards are properly applied.