Residents speak their piece in the federal water rights case

It has been more than 10 years since nearly 2,000 Anza and Aguanga landowners with properties surrounding the Cahuilla and Ramona Indian Reservation were notified that their water rights were in litigation and settlement negotiations were underway.

The tribes, referring to an earlier settlement in a case titled U.S. vs. Fallbrook Public Utility that has been dragging on since 1963, filed an appeal with the court to quantify their water rights in the upper portion of the Santa Margarita River Watershed that had not be determined by the court.

More than a dozen Anza Valley residents trekked down...