On this day in 2017, Gov. Jerry Brown signed Senate Bill 634, officially merging the Castaic Lake Water Agency (CLWA) and the Newhall County Water District (NCWD)  into a single entity, the Santa Clarita Valley Water Agency.

The bill, authored by then-Senator Scott Wilk (R-Santa Clarita), unified decades of overlapping service areas and long-standing disputes between the two water agencies, creating one valley-wide water provider for nearly all Santa Clarita Valley residents.

“Thank you to Senator Scott Wilk, Castaic Lake Water Agency and Newhall County Water District for your vision and hard work,” said NCWD Board President Maria Gutzeit at the time. “I know we have additional work ahead.”

For years, the two water agencies had been embroiled in litigation over wholesale water rates and the legality of CLWA’s acquisition of the Valencia Water Co., a former private utility owned by The Newhall Land and Farming Co. before CLWA purchased it in 2012.

Their relationship began to shift toward cooperation when both sides agreed that a merger would better serve ratepayers and streamline water management across the region.

Formed in 1962, CLWA had operated as both a wholesaler and retailer since acquiring the Santa Clarita Water Co. in 1999.

The Newhall County Water District, meanwhile, traced its roots back to 1913 as the Newhall Water Co. and became a public agency in 1953.

By 2017, NCWD’s service area stretched well beyond Newhall, reaching into Castaic, Tesoro del Valle and eastern Canyon Country.

Under the new law, all assets, debts and employees of both agencies were transferred to the Santa Clarita Valley Water Agency.

The bill also mandated the absorption of Valencia Water Co. by mid-2018 and created a 15-member governing board, with 14 publicly elected directors and one appointed seat representing L.A. County Water Works District 36, which continues to serve Val Verde.

Wilk described the merger as a long-overdue consolidation meant to improve efficiency, transparency and environmental stewardship. “Economic impact and efficiency studies found that the new district will generate millions of dollars in savings, create more transparency for the ratepayer and enhance environmental and watershed protections,” he said in a statement.

Gov. Brown signed the legislation without issuing a public comment, finalizing one of the most significant structural changes to local water governance in Santa Clarita Valley history.

To read yesterday’s Today in SCV History, click here.

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