DeLoreto

Pursuant to section 32200 of the Water Code, Emil and Elizabeth M. DeLoreto petitioned respondent board of directors to exclude their land from respondent water district. After a hearing, the board denied the petition. Mr. and Mrs. DeLoreto then petitioned the superior court for a writ of mandate compelling exclusion of their land from the district. The court entered a judgment denying the petition. The petitioners appeal from the judgment.

Appellants contend that the evidence before the board does not support the board's finding that the land will be substantially and directly benefited by its continued inclusion in the district.

Petitioners’ land, consisting of 9 acres, has been located within respondent district since the district was organized in 1944 under the County Water District Law. (Wat. Code, §§ 30000-33901.) One of the purposes for organizing the district was to enable participation in the “Caehuma project,” a project proposed by the United States Bureau of Reclamation to increase the water supply in the Santa Barbara area. (Section 31020 et seq. of the Water Code prescribe the purposes of a county water district.) On April 10, 1952, the district, after having been…