Big Canyon Country Club wants Newport to refund charges for recycled water

An exclusive Newport Beach country club says the city unfairly overcharged it for recycled water, and it’s asking for a refund.

Big Canyon Country Club at 1 Big Canyon Drive alleges in a March claim filed with the city that it was overcharged from 2011 to 2014 while the city was conducting a study that led to a decrease in water rates last year.

The claim did not specify the amount of the requested refund. David Voorhees, the club’s general manager, did not return a call seeking comment.

Recycled water, also known as reclaimed water, is treated wastewater that is used for landscape irrigation at parks, school fields, roadway medians and often places with expansive greenery, such as golf courses.

The water — which should not be consumed — is used as a measure to conserve drinking water.

The City Council discussed the claim during a closed session Tuesday night but did not vote on it.

Executives with the country club requested in July 2011 that the city conduct an analysis of the cost to provide and transport recycled water to the business. The analysis by Irvine-based HF&H Consultants took about three years and resulted in the city reducing the price of recycled water to the club by about 50%, according to the claim.

The price was lowered for all users of recycled water throughout the city, said George Murdoch, the city’s general manager for utilities.

Murdoch declined to comment about the country club’s claim.

The claim states that under Proposition 218, also known as the Right to Vote on Taxes Act, passed by voters in 1996, “the city is restricted from charging more for goods and services it provides than what those goods and services cost.”

“The city’s own analysis established the rate was significantly higher than it should have been,” the claim states.

In 2011, the club paid about $630 per month for recycled water. At the time, that number was expected to rise to about $682 per month by 2015, according to city data.

Big Canyon Country Club currently pays about $460 per month for recycled water that is used on its more than 7,100-yard golf course.

Users of recycled water also pay a monthly commodity charge for each meter, which the city says recaptures the cost to purchase recycled water from the Orange County Water District, and an additional monthly charge that provides the city with funds to operate and maintain the pump stations necessary to provide non-potable water.