Great Oaks Water Co. v. Santa Clara Valley Water Dist.

*1197Plaintiff Great Oaks Water Company (Great Oaks), a water retailer, brought this action challenging a groundwater extraction fee imposed on water it draws from wells on its property. The power to impose such a fee is vested in defendant Santa Clara Valley Water Management District (the District), under the Santa Clara Valley Water District Act (Stats. 1951, ch. 1405, pp. 3336 et seq., West's Ann. Wat.-Appen. (1999 ed.) ch. 60, pp. 354 et seq.) (District Act or the Act). Among the District's major responsibilities is preventing depletion of the acquifers from which Great Oaks extracts the water…