City of Santa Fe Springs: sale of water utility property

The law creates a city-specific path to transfer a troubled water system when contamination, capacity limits, or unreasonable costs make continued city operation impractical. It requires protections for customers, including notice, protest rights, and phased-in rate increases.

What the law does ​

• Allows Santa Fe Springs to sell its water utility only if the City Council finds continued ownership and operation is not in the public interest.
• Requires a sale price of at least fair market value and approval by a four-fifths vote of the City Council.
• Limits a sale to circumstances involving impaired or unsafe water supply, inadequate city capacity, or unreasonably burdensome operating or treatment costs, supported by an independent financial analysis.
• Requires the receiving public water system to border the city's service area, make consolidation economically feasible for affected ratepayers, and maintain uninterrupted service without lower quality.
• Requires first-year rate notice to customers and phases in any post-sale rate increases over time.
• Requires public notice, a 45-day protest period, a hearing, and disclosure of the intended use of sale proceeds.
• Requires an election and majority voter approval if at least 10% of interested residents and ratepayers protest; bars further sale action for one year if 50% or more protest.
• Repeals the city-specific authority on January 1, 2032.

Who it affects ​

• Santa Fe Springs water customers, including ratepayers outside city limits.
• Santa Fe Springs residents and registered voters.
• The Santa Fe Springs City Council and a neighboring public water system that could acquire the utility.

Context ​

The authority applies only to a consolidation with an adjacent public water system and only through December 31, 2031.