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Officials Reject Proposal To Merge Fallbrook, Rainbow Water Districts

Pictured is a map of the Fallbrook and Rainbow Water Districts, which are considering a proposed merger.
San Diego Local Agency Formation Commission
Pictured is a map of the Fallbrook and Rainbow Water Districts, which are considering a proposed merger.

LAFCO Report On Reorganization
The San Diego Local Agency Formation Commission report on the Rainbow Municipal Water District and Fallbrook Public Utility District reorganization.
To view PDF files, download Acrobat Reader.

Updated at 4:35 p.m. Monday:

A proposal to merge two North County water districts to cut costs and increase efficiency was voted down Monday.

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The merger between Fallbrook and Rainbow water districts would have saved more than $2 million a year. But Rainbow resisted the proposal, calling it a hostile takeover.

The vote by the Local Agency Formation Commission or LAFCO was 5-3 against approving the plan.

Both County Supervisors on the Commission, Dianne Jacob and Bill Horn, voted against going ahead.

Original Story:

A vote Monday will determine whether the Fallbrook Public Utility District will merge with the Rainbow Municipal Water District.

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Michael Ott is the executive director of LAFCO, the Local Agency Formation Commission, which is tasked with making the decision.

Ott said like the city of San Diego and the Chargers, there is a lot of animosity between the Rainbow and Fallbrook districts.

“Like the Chargers ownership, the Rainbow water board is so opposed to this reorganization that they reject virtually all cost (projections) issued by the Fallbrook water district regarding feasibility."

And the Fallbrook district board feels so strongly about the benefits of the merger that they want to move forward, even without the consent of Rainbow, Ott said.

Ott said his research suggests water rates in Rainbow are currently some of the highest in the region.

Rainbow was unable to meet its water conservation targets to meet the demands to reduce water during the drought.

If LAFCO approves the merger, Rainbow can still try to undo the merger if 25 percent of residents ask for an election.

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