Judge settles water dispute

La Contenta vs. CCWD

La Contenta Golf Course will have to keep its greens green without water from New Hogan Reservoir, a Calaveras County Superior Court ruled last week.

The decision released Oct. 30 by Judge Thomas Smith sees the Calaveras County Water District retain sole jurisdiction over reservoir water rights first established under a 2008 agreement that required course owners to irrigate with recycled CCWD wastewater in exchange for $1.8 million in sewage capacity credits. The credits can be applied to the cost of new sewage hookups as future developments are built.

La Contenta investors had been using lake water to supplement effluent irrigation efforts at the Valley Springs course, prompting the water district’s decision to tighten the New Hogan spigot early last year.

The July 2011 lawsuit filed by course owners sought damages in connection with the district shutoff and looked to reinstate golf course entitlements to previously agreed-upon sewer credits.

Judge Smith’s ruling allows golf course management to pursue additional sewer credits through the court.

CCWD interim General Manager Lynn Gentry said the district – which asked the court to deny La Contenta’s credits – will now reach out to course owners in an effort to settle the issue before it reaches an issue before it reaches an appeal.

“They have earned some credits,” Gentry said Friday, “And those they can use in future developments against capacity sewer fees, but the agreement was basically to allow them to earn credits if they took the amount (of effluent) they agreed to take, and they didn’t do that.”

Gentry said the decision to “underutilize” recycled water put district wastewater treatment ponds at risk of an overflow in the event of a major winter storm.

“For whatever reason (La Contenta) didn’t want to comply with the agreement and take the recycled water they agreed upon,” she said. “In the process they were not emptying the ponds the way they should and its cost us quite a bit (to prevent a spill).”

Meanwhile, many homeowners have complained about odors believed to be emanating from wastewater-filled golf course ponds, a claim Gentry and others have disputed.

“The odors developed due to a lack of air in the ponds and the decay of organic materials,” explains a district release. “The county ordered the golf course to employ standard aeration practices during summer months to improve this situation. … Odors from the golf course ponds do not contain treated effluent nor were they affected by the brief termination of New Hogan water to the course.”

Officials from La Contenta could not be reached for comment and did not respond to messages as of press time Monday.