• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

Ruling Decides Claims to Water: Akron, Rivals Both Win Points Before Ohio Supreme Court

Posted on: Tuesday, 7 March 2006, 12:01 CST

By Bob Downing, The Akron Beacon Journal, Ohio

Mar. 7--Akron and its opponents in a high-stakes legal battle over water rights on the Cuyahoga River both won key points in a decision Monday by the Ohio Supreme Court.

The court ruled that the current flow of the Cuyahoga River in Portage and Summit counties below the Lake Rockwell dam must be maintained, much to the delight of Portage County, Kent, Cuyahoga Falls, Munroe Falls and Silver Lake, the five plaintiffs that had sued Akron nearly eight years ago.

The guaranteed flow benefits operators of sewage treatment plants along the Cuyahoga, including Portage and Summit counties and the cities of Kent and Ravenna. Without a guaranteed flow, they were facing costly state-mandated improvements to the plants.

Akron will be ordered to release to the river at least 5 million gallons of water a day from Lake Rockwell, the city's main drinking-water reservoir near Kent. That's the amount the city has been releasing voluntarily, but Akron wanted the right to cut off the flow in case of drought.

Despite the impending order, Akron was not disappointed with the outcome because the order will have minimal impact on the city's drinking-water operations.

Portage County Common Pleas Judge John Enlow, who heard the case in 2001, must determine exactly what the mandated flow will be. But the Supreme Court described the current flow of 8.1 million to 9.5 million gallons a day in the Cuyahoga River below the Lake Rockwell dam as "reasonable."

In addition to the 5 million gallons a day being released by Akron from Lake Rockwell, 3.1 million to 4.5 million gallons a day comes from streams and groundwater emptying into the Cuyahoga, from leaks from the dam and from releases from Akron's water treatment plant.

The plaintiffs had sought the release of 10.9 million gallons a day. Akron had argued that releasing that volume of water could create supply problems for its water customers.

The city provides 38 million gallons of drinking water a day to 300,000 customers in Akron and surrounding communities.

In its 40-page decision, written by Justice Terrence O'Donnell, the Ohio high court ruled that:

-- Akron does not have unlimited and unconditional water rights to the Cuyahoga River. Portage County, Kent, Cuyahoga Falls, Silver Lake and Munroe Falls also have water rights. Akron's use of the water has been reasonable, a key point, the high court said.

-- Akron can continue to provide water to Coventry, Copley and Springfield townships under joint economic development agreements.

-- Akron can prohibit recreational use of Lake Rockwell.

-- Portage County has rights to a county-owned well field next to the Cuyahoga River in Shalersville Township. Akron had claimed that the well field relied on water that drained into the Cuyahoga River and belonged to the city.

The decision was supported by O'Donnell, Chief Justice Thomas J. Moyer and Justices Maureen O'Connor and Judith Ann Lanzinger.

Justice Paul Pfeifer entered a partial dissent, joined by Justices Alice Robie Resnick and Evelyn Lundberg Stratton.

They believed that Akron should release 10.9 million gallons a day. Such a release would "not unreasonably impair" Akron's ability to meet its water demands, Pfeifer said.

And the dissenting justices called Akron's ban on non-motorized boats on the reservoir "unreasonable," in Pfeifer's words

Both sides in the dispute said they were pleased by the ruling.

"It really is a shame we had to waste millions of dollars on legal fees and eight years' time to find out what we already knew: that we were doing the right thing all along and should do nothing to change that," Akron Mayor Don Plusquellic said.

The legal bills for both sides exceeded $5 million, officials said.

"I believe that was as good a victory as we could have hoped for," said Portage County Commissioner Chuck Keiper. "It's good news that they will require a certain minimum flow on the Cuyahoga River."

Keiper said that without the guaranteed flow, sewer rates for plants discharging waste to the Cuyahoga would have tripled or quadrupled to comply with stricter environmental limits.

Portage County officials also are pleased that the Shalersville well field that provides water to Aurora and Streetsboro was vindicated, he said.

Bob Downing can be reached at 330-996-3745 or bdowning@thebeaconjournal.com

-----

Copyright (c) 2006, The Akron Beacon Journal, Ohio

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

For information on republishing this content, contact us at (800) 661-2511 (U.S.), (213) 237-4914 (worldwide), fax (213) 237-6515, or e-mail reprints@krtinfo.com.

Unknown:SVL,

Source: Akron Beacon Journal (Akron, Ohio)

More News in this Category