Brown v. City of Eugene

Under section 44(3) of the Eugene City Charter, "water service" means the direct provision of water to end users, and is not so broad as to include the sale of water to other entities that will then distribute the water.

The City of Eugene appealed the trial court’s judicial validation of the contract entered into by the Eugene Water and Electric Board (EWEB). EWEB entered into a contract under which it was to sell water to the City of Veneta. EWEB sought judicial validation of the contract and the City of Eugene intervened, arguing that under section 44(3) of the city charter, the “extension of water service” is subject to the control of, and approval by, the Eugene City Council. The trial court entered a judgment validating the contract because although the city charter gave the City Council control over “extension of water service,” the sale of water to another utility did not fit within that category. The Court of Appeals affirmed the decision of the lower court, holding that “water service” means the direct provision of water to end users, and is not so broad as to include the sale of water to another utility that then distributes water to those end users. Affirmed.