It took 66 years of litigation and 50 years of settlement talks for the community of Fallbrook and the US government to find a happy ending to their dispute about water from the Santa Margarita river. The longest running federal civil case in San Diego was about finding a way to accommodate the needs of the US Marine Corps Base and the community of Fallbrook. In the end, efficiency and cooperation won the day, but it took almost a lifetime.

Mediating water disputes is a process of resolving complex intertwined interests and solving all kinds of problems: engineering; environmental; political; emotional; legal. Water disputes present both huge problems to be solved and huge opportunities for making community water use kinder to the environment and wallets. Eventually, the Fallbrook solution brought water to the community at a vastly reduced price than importing water, even with a 20 year state loan. The solution couldn’t be reached however, without cooperation from the US Government and the US Marine Corps base. Getting to such a solution doesn’t come through letting conflicts take their course, unless you want to wait 66 years. There is a better way with mediation. The sooner a community can triage water disputes before unproductive conflicts break out, the sooner a solution can be forthcoming. Turning parties into strategic partners rather than enemies saves years of wasted time.

At Boileau Conflict Solutions, we can help you mediate your community water dispute in the early stages, so you can tackle your water issues as partners with stakeholders, rather than opposing parties. We can help prevent drawn out disputes by applying careful analysis of the financial and other interests involved to present a realistic map of how stakeholders can work together. We have offices in Boulder, CO, Campbell, CA, Irvine, CA and Beverly Hills, CA. We can also be contacted via Zoom, Facetime or telephone and are available at urgent notice 7 days a week. Remote conflict resolution can be arranged if needed. Please contact us to see how we can help.

Further Reading: http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/communities/north-county/sd-no-fallbrook-settlement-20171211-story.html