That the Utility Authority authorize staff to issue a purchase order in the amount of $35,448.80 to lease 36.5 shares of California Domestic Water Company Stock from the La Habra Heights County Water District.

La Habra Heights County Water District (LHHCWD) owns 36.5 shares of California Domestic Water Company (CDWC) Common Stock. LHHCWD currently does not have the ability to transfer CDWC water supplies to its own distribution system; therefore, LHHCWD has leased these water shares, annually, to shareholders who might benefit from their use. Each share of CDWC Common Stock currently represents 1.60 acre-feet of water for a total lease of 58.4 acre-feet at a rate of $607 per acre-foot for a total cost of $35,448.80. The leased shares represent an overall savings of approximately $14,250 versus purchases of over-entitlement water from CDWC and will be applied to water acquisitions for FY 2025-2026.

The Authority has leased these available shares from LHHCWD in prior years and staff has acknowledged the request for bids from LHHCWD within their response period and successfully secured the lease on behalf of the Utility Authority, pending final approval (Attachment 1).

The annual cost of leasing 36.5 shares/58.4 acre-feet of CDWC Common Stock from LHHCWD is $35,448.80 and there are sufficient budgeted funds in the Utility Authority's FY 2025-2026 Operations and Maintenance Budget to fund this cost. There is no impact to the City's General Fund.