Update on Oxnard/Pleasant Valley
(OPV) Groundwater Adjudication
March 11, 2026
Camarillo’s Water Future is at Risk
2www.cityofcamarillo.org 2
The OPV adjudication’s potential effects on Camarillo include:
• Reduced access to local groundwater
• Reduced water supply reliability
• Greater reliance on imported water (when available)
• Increased costs for residents and businesses
• Operational constraints on the City’s North Pleasant Valley Desalter – partially funded by state and federal grants • Disruption to long-term water plans and implementation of state environmental mandates
• Detrimental salt levels and water quality impacts
Understanding the OPV Basins & This Case
3 • The Pleasant Valley (PV) Basin and Oxnard
Subbasin store groundwater used by cities,
farms, and businesses in Ventura County.
• Nearly all the central County’s groundwater
basins are connected in some way.
• Adjudication is a court process that legally
determines the water rights of everyone who
pumps from a basin.
• The OPV adjudication covers just the PV
Basin and Oxnard Subbasin.
• The Court of Appeal just decided a
separate adjudication in the adjacent Las
Posas basin.
How Did We Get Here?
4www.cityofcamarillo.org
• Under the 2014 Sustainable Groundwater
Management Act, Fox Canyon Groundwater
Management Agency adopted rules limiting how
much water could be pumped from the OPV basins.
• A group of powerful landowners called the "OPV
Coalition" disagreed with those limits and filed a
lawsuit in June 2021.
• Their lawsuit doesn't just challenge the pumping rules — it also seeks to adjudicate (legally decide) the
pumping rights of everyone in the basins, including
Camarillo.
• The Court agreed to hear the adjudication first,
before the challenge to the rules.
4 Camarillo’s Interests in PV Basin
5www.cityofcamarillo.org
• Camarillo is the only city located within the PV Basin and accounts for about 50% of its land area.
• The City historically relied on PV Basin groundwater, but rising salt levels from upstream communities in the 1990s forced Camarillo to increasingly blend in
imported water.
• To solve this, Camarillo invested $70 million using
federal, state and local funding to build the Desalter, which removes salts from groundwater to meet
environmental mandates while providing clean
drinking water.
• Camarillo also delivers recycled water to farmers,
reducing the need to pump additional groundwater.
City’s wells &
desalter
Salty inflows via
Arroyo Las Posas
City’s
recycled
water plant
5 Camarillo’s Interests in PV Basin
(cont.)
6www.cityofcamarillo.org
• The Desalter began operating in 2023
• Before that, Camarillo:
Pumped 2,800 to 3,300 acre-feet per year (AFY) of
PV Basin groundwater – 40% of total demand
Used about 4,500 AFY of imported Calleguas
water
• Delivers about 3,500 AFY of recycled water to
farmers
• The Desalter began providing Camarillo’s main
water supply in 2023 – about 3,900 AFY from
4,500 AFY of pumping
6 Desalter Ribbon-cutting event, 2021
Desalter Tour, 2025
OPV Adjudication’s Potential
Effect on Camarillo’s Interests
7 • Camarillo built the Desalter based on a 4,500-AFY
pumping allocation under the 2016 Fox Canyon
Groundwater Management Agency Resolution.
If adjudication limits Camarillo’s pumping or doesn’t have enough water in PV basin, it could: (1) strand
desalter capacity; and (2) interfere with recycled-water operations
• Because cities’ rights to “native” water generally are subordinate to landowners’ rights, Camarillo’s
groundwater pumping could be limited if the basin
doesn't have enough groundwater for all pumpers.
• If the case allocates too much to “native” water versus “non-native” water, it could impact the City’s operation of the Desalter and its pumping generally.
What Else is at Stake: Camarillo's Water Investments
8www.cityofcamarillo.org
• Camarillo uses imported water to supplement local
supplies — and the resulting “return flows” may add
to the basin’s total recharge.
• The City may need to assert its legal right to recover and re-use those return flows to maximize its
pumping rights.
• Camarillo delivers about 3,500 AFY of recycled water
to local farmers — reducing the need to pump
additional groundwater from the basin.
• The City may need to assert an “in lieu recharge”
right (credit for delivering recycled water to farmers
instead of pumping groundwater) based on
deliveries.
• If pumping rights are curtailed, Camarillo may need
to recapture that recycled water rather than
continuing deliveries to farmers.
8 Status of OPV Adjudication
2021 2022
June 2021-
Initial filing
Dec. 2022 – Camarillo
named as defendant
2023
March 2023 – Court denies Camarillo motion to
dismiss saying PV Basin & Oxnard Subbasin can’t
be litigated together
2024
June 2024 – Court sets 3 phases: 1. Safe yields; 2. Water rights; 3. Management (“physical solution”)
2025 2026
Jan. 2025 – Court requires expert
reports in June/July 2025
Early Aug. 2025 – Other parties
negotiate safe yields for both Oxnard
and PV; Camarillo cannot agree
Late Aug. 2025 – Court allows new
expert opinions to support negotiated
safe yields
Sept. 2025 –
Phase 1 trial
Oct. 2025 – Court adopts
negotiated PV safe yield
opposed by Camarillo
Feb. 2025 –
Camarillo files
opening appeal
brief
Dec. 2025 –
Camarillo
appeals
9 Who Adopted the 2025 “Settlement?”
10 The “OPV Coalition” of 150+ landowners, including
(as far as we can tell):
Gary Arnold (verified last complaint against
Camarillo and other defendants)
Driscoll's, Inc.
Duda Farm Fresh Foods
City of Oxnard
United Water Conservation District
Pleasant Valley County Water District
Guadalasca Mutual Water Company
Marathon Land
Procter & Gamble Paper Products
California-American Water Company (Las Posas
Estates)
And many more…
Phase 1 Statement of Decision
11www.cityofcamarillo.org
• Court adopted negotiated value for PV yields
Camarillo opposed
• 13,750 AFY total safe yield (negotiated)
• 9,500 AFY native safe yield (69% of total)
• Unquantified deduction for Oxnard seawater intrusion
• Court concluded PV Basin is overdrafted (based on
DWR general statement)
• Camarillo’s proposal
• 17,100 AFY total safe yield (long-term average
pumping + storage gain)
• 8,500 AFY native safe yield (50% of total)
• No seawater intrusion deduction
• PV Basin is not overdrafted (based on GSP analysis)
Why Camarillo is
Appealing
12 • The court's ruling hinges on the
basin’s total and native "safe
yields" — safe yield is how much
water can be sustainably pumped
from the PV Basin.
• Camarillo believes the court set the
“native” number incorrectly by
counting salty flows from upstream
wastewater discharges as “native”
water.
• Camarillo believes the court set the
“total” number incorrectly
because it’s lower than long-term
pumping that has been
sustainable.
Upstream
wastewater
discharges
Inflows including
non-native
wastewater
12 13
Next Steps
Next Steps
14www.cityofcamarillo.org
• Action by Court of Appeal –
possibly:
• Reversing Phase 1 decision and
directing safe yield results
• Reversing Phase 1 decision and
directing a new trial
• Deciding not to hear appeal now
• Phase 2 on water rights
• Likely multiple trials
• Phase 3 on “physical solution”
follows
• Global settlement discussions?
Possibly any time,
possibly months
For just Phase 2, at
least 2 years from
initiation
Could start any time, 12-18
months at least to
complete 14
Bottom Line for Camarillo
15 • The adjudication could limit the groundwater
needed to fully operate the City’s $70 million
Desalter, potentially stranding the investments made
to support Camarillo’s primary water supply.
• If Camarillo must rely more heavily on costly and less reliable imported water, it could impact rates for
residents and businesses.
• The City is defending its water rights to protect this major public investment and ensure reliable water
for the community.
www.cityofcamarillo.org
Keeping Our Community Informed
The City of Camarillo is committed to
transparent, timely communication with
residents and businesses as this case
progresses. We are:
• Providing clear, accessible updates on the
adjudication and what it could mean for
Camarillo.
• Sharing fact-based resources explaining the
Desalter, water quality, and long-term water
reliability.
• Keeping residents and businesses informed
through City channels and community outreach.
16 cityofcamarillo.org/protectourwater
17 Questions