据美国水事新闻在线报道，在加利福尼亚最高法院驳回圣迭哥县水管理局对该州最大水批发商的指控后，围绕着圣迭哥县在干旱季节到底拥有多少水权的争斗，在历经3年之后结束。
2001年，圣迭哥县水管理局就一个有75年历史的分水方案起诉南加州大都市水区。这个方案用于紧急状态下的对供水进行分摊。2002年，一家高等法院法官拒绝受理此案，今年一家上诉法院同意受理，但州高等法院驳回了圣迭哥县的上诉。
圣迭哥县水管理局认为，大都市水区没有正确理解这一方案。圣迭哥县认为，在干旱季节，该县可得到大都市水区18％的水，而目前它仅用了18％供水量的四分之一，圣迭哥85％的水取自大都市水区，是这个最大水批发商的头号消费者。
去年，大都市区的第二大消费者洛杉机市从该水区购买了大约15％的水，在紧急情况下，该市有权获得21％的水。
圣迭哥县的水计划者声称，这个方案可能给圣迭哥县带来危险。水管理局花费140万美元，企图改变这一方案，但这一企图未获成功。大都市水区发言人指出，在迄今他的消费者中还从来没有人要提出优惠水权主张，也没有人支持圣迭哥县的主张。
圣迭哥县水管理局局长说，法院的判决凸显了该局正在努力使供水多样化、减少对大都市水区依赖的重要性。
原文如下：
High court ends 3-year battle over San Diego water rights
July 2004
U.S. Water News Online
SAN DIEGO -- A three-year battle over how much water San Diego County is entitled to in a drought has ended with the California Supreme Court refusing to hear an appeal of a lawsuit against the state's largest water wholesaler.
San Diego County's water authority sued the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California in 2001 over a 75-year-old formula that could be used to divvy up supplies in an emergency. A Superior Court judge tossed out the lawsuit in 2002, and an appellate court agreed this year. The state's high court rejected San Diego's appeal.
San Diego County's water authority argued that Metropolitan was not correctly interpreting the formula. The county said that in a drought, it would be able to claim only 18 percent of Metropolitan's water, when it currently uses about a quarter of the supply. San Diego imports 85 percent of its water from Metropolitan and is the wholesaler's largest customer.
Metropolitan's No. 2 customer, the City of Los Angeles, bought about 15 percent of the water sold by Metropolitan last year. In an emergency, the city has rights to 21 percent.
San Diego's water planners claimed the rule could place the county in jeopardy. The water authority spent $1.4 million in its unsuccessful attempt to change the rule.
Metropolitan spokesman Adan Ortega noted that none of its customers has ever invoked the preferential water rights claim, and none supported San Diego County's challenge.
Bernie Rhinerson, chairman of the San Diego County Water Authority, said the court's decision stressed the importance of his agency's ongoing efforts to diversify its supply and reduce its "overdependence" on Metropolitan.
