July 16--A Ventura County water district Wednesday formally approved a settlement with actor Tom Selleck, whom it had accused of illegally delivering water to his Hidden Valley ranch.
In a closed session, the board of directors of the Calleguas Municipal Water District accepted the settlement offer from Selleck, in which he agreed to pay $21,685.55 -- the investigative costs incurred by the district -- and to immediately stop having water from Calleguas delivered to his ranch.
On July 6, Calleguas filed a complaint against the "Magnum P.I." and "Blue Bloods" actor and his wife, Jillie, accusing them of having water from a fire hydrant in Thousand Oaks delivered to their 60-acre estate in Hidden Valley.
The couple's property is located outside the boundaries of Calleguas' service area, so delivery of potable water to Selleck's home violates district law, the complaint said.
To document its case, the water district spent nearly $22,000 on a private investigator.
In a news conference announcing the details of the settlement agreement, Calleguas officials defended their legal action against Selleck.
"Our 630,000 water users fully expect Calleguas to take any steps necessary to preserve their water supply, particularly during water shortages," said Thomas L. Slosson, vice president of Calleguas' board of directors.
The general manager of Calleguas, Susan Mulligan, emphasized that whether Selleck paid for the water was irrelevant.
The law "was violated each and every time a delivery of Calleguas-supplied water was made outside legal boundaries," Mulligan said.
Those who live outside the water district have not contributed taxes and other fees toward the maintence of the water district's infrastructure, she said.
"The water delivered and used in this case was not fully paid for, period," Mulligan said.
A representative for Selleck did not respond to a request for comment.
