RECENT CALIFORNIA DECISIONS

January 2009

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First District Court Finds that a Water Supply Assessment Relying on Groundwater Need Not Analyze Groundwater Pumping by All Users in the Basin
O.W.L. Foundation v. City of Rohnert Park, ___Cal. App.4th___

O.W.L. Foundation and three individual residents (collectively: OWL) filed suit against Rohnert Park nd the Rohnert Park City Council (together, Rohnert Park), challenging Rohnert Park’s approval of a Water Supply Assessment (WSA) prepared in connection with six proposed development projects. The Court of Appeal reversed the trial court judgment, holding that a WSA need not analyze groundwater pumping by all users in an entire basin to satisfy the requirements of Water Code § 10910. As a broader issue, the court concluded that in not specifying a particular methodology for a sufficiency analysis, the statute affords a water supplier substantial discretion in determining how to measure groundwater sufficiency.