Download this page in PDF format

Yucca Valley, CA – (Press Release) Water rights are very expensive to acquire and will increasingly become more so in the future. The ratepayers of the Hi-Desert Water District pay Mojave Water Agency $431 per acre-foot of water to recharge the water we use. In July 2011, the cost per acre-foot goes up to $450. TheBlue Skies Country Club only pays $15 per acre-foot of the water it uses. The Hi-Desert Water District has the responsibility to maintain the water reserves in the ground. That means for every acre-foot of water used by Blue Skies, the District ratepayers pay $431 to replace it. At 585 acre-feet of water rights available at Blue Skies Country Club, there is potentially $252,135 that Hi-Desert Water District ratepayers must pay to replenish the water reserves.
The Blue Skies Country Club has been in foreclosure and as a result there has been no water usage for the past several years. The condition of the course has become a blight for the community. It is full of dead trees, dead grass, and a dilapidated building. The current value is in the water rights. But the true value to the community is much more.
As a public agency with interest in providing safe-reliable water for the community, the Hi-Desert Water District has negotiated a purchase contract with the bank. The Board of Directors will be considering the purchase contract at the next regular meeting.
While the District has no interest in developing the land, it does have interest in negotiating a fair rate with any potential golf course investor to help cover costs to recharge the basin. The negotiated rate will not prohibit the rehabilitation of the land for a golf course, but will potentially save the Hi-Desert Water District customers up to $250,000 a year.
Hi-Desert Water District is a public agency, who mission it is to serve the community of Yucca Valley with safe-reliable water in a financially responsible manner.
Hi-Desert Water District – Serving You Today . . . Planning for Tomorrow!

CONTACT:
Jennifer Cusack,
Public Information Officer
760.228.6267