A planned July 31 forum about the Eldorado Area Water and Sanitation District could provide the most in-depth public discussion to date of the district's legal status and authority.

Moderated by state Rep. Peter Wirth, the agenda includes talks by a senior policy adviser from Gov. Bill Richardson's office; the top attorney at the Office of State Engineer; a senior attorney for the Albuquerque law firm that represents the water district; and members of water district's board of directors.

Sponsored by the U.S. 285 South Coalition, a neighborhood group that watches matters of public interest to residents of that area, the forum is billed as "the rest of the story" with a goal of "separating fact from fiction." While the forum brings together experts qualified to expose the legal framework in which the district operates, the experts will tell part of a story that has yet to be finished.

Board member George Haddad said the coalition invited the board to participate, and that the meeting was in part to resolve what he called disinformation or misinformation that circulated about district business.

"We are not going to adjudicate this protest (involving a newly drilled well), nor are we going to adjudicate rate hike at this forum. I think we are going to discuss the issues that are before the district and try to inform the public what those issues are," Haddad said.

Board members and the coalition plan to meet Tuesday to establish protocols for conduct of the forum, Haddad said.

Voters established the district as a public jurisdiction in 1997. Since then, the district condemned in a legal challenge the water system developers built, then in December 2004, hired a private company to operate the system. During the first two years as water-system administrators, the board of directors conducted studies intended to assess the condition of the system and the underground-water supply available within the district.

The district also opened legal actions by way of a pumping permit application and a rate-hike increase that are destined to define the scope of the district's legal authority.

In a rate-hike proposal that would raise average water bills some 30 percent, staff at the Public Regulation Commission have argued the district may not lawfully charge customers for the cost of system improvements or expansions that have yet to be built. A decision in that hearing is still pending.

Only after an attorney newly hired by the district cited laws he discovered while researching the PRC case did the board formally consider an election to ask voters to approve new spending on system improvements.

The board declined to put a decision about purchasing office space on a summer ballot this year. The tangled array of residents, property owners and ratepayers who would need to be advised of an upcoming vote made it virtually impossible for the district to stage an election on short notice.

In a request to start using a newly drilled well, which cost nearly $1 million and was paid for with state and district money, the district applied to supplement pumping from other wells it says are worth more than 800-acre feet in water rights, though the well in question could never pump more than a fifth of that amount. Whether the Office of State Engineer agrees with the claim appears to remain an open question.

The district's claim proved controversial with downstream neighbors who protested the application. The state engineer wrote in a order refusing an emergency permit — though it was later granted — that the new well might not be in the same water supply as other wells for which the district claims more than
800-acre feet of water rights.

A contentious election is brewing with four of five seats on the board up for grabs in January. Contenders for the first time since the district started sending water bills to customers are promising a dynamic contest over the direction and management of the district.

Decisions on the rate hike and on the scope of water rights available to be supplemented by a new well might settle some questions residents of the 11-year-old water district simply could not answer unless they took advice of one attorney or another.

The July 31 presentation, set for 7:30 p.m. at El Dorado Elementary School may clarify details of a story residents don't fully understand, but the rest of the story will unfold as decisions come back from state agencies and from voters about where the district is headed and how it will get there.

If you go

What: Eldorado Area Water and Sanitation District public forum. Agenda includes talks by a senior policy adviser from Gov. Bill Richardson’s office; the top attorney at the Office of State Engineer; a senior attorney for the Albuquerque law firm that represents the water district; and members of water district’s board of directors. Sponsored by the U.S. 285 South Coalition.

When: 7:30 p.m. July 31

Where: El Dorado Elementary School

Contact David Collins at 986-3064 or dcollins@sfnewmexican.com.