Opinion ID: 1404796
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 7

Heading: Lake Line Taps

Text: Polo Ranch does not obtain water from the north Bell wells, but instead has seven taps in the City's lake line through which the ranch obtains raw water for stock watering. According to testimony presented at trial, the City requested that Polo Ranch take water from the lake line in lieu of water from the north Bell wells. During the course of this litigation, the City requested a declaratory judgment allowing the City to remove Polo Ranch's lake line taps or to require Polo Ranch to memorialize the arrangement in accordance with formal policies adopted by the Board of Public Utilities. The court determined that no contractual provision entitles Polo Ranch to connect to the lake lines and that the City has no obligation to continue the present arrangement without a formal agreement. Polo Ranch argues that, because the City affirmatively requested the current delivery system, just as it affirmatively requested a deviation from the delivery system for the south Bell wells, estoppel should apply here as well. [6] Polo Ranch contends that the Court offered no reasonable explanation for treating the two situations differently. We disagree. There are important factual differences between the two situations. Perhaps most importantly, the lake line does not contain or carry water from the Bell wells, and thus, the rights and obligations of the parties with respect to the lake line water are not governed by the 1955 Agreement. Although the evidence is undisputed that Polo Ranch takes water from the lake lines in lieu of water from the north Bell wells, the taps to the lake lines are not metered, and the water delivered to Polo Ranch from those lines has never been included in the figures used to calculate Polo Ranch's entitlement under the Agreement. No doubt the current arrangement is beneficial to Polo Ranch, but it is outside the scope of the Agreement. The court correctly concluded that the City has no obligation to continue the arrangement. The court's ruling on the lake line taps is affirmed.