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SACRAMENTO — California’s rural counties launched a major court fight Tuesday against the ambitious CalFed water accord, labeling it an effort to grab control over northern groundwater and send it to powerful southern water districts. 

The lawsuit is the most significant legal challenge to date against CalFed. 

It was filed in Sacramento Superior Court by the Regional Council of Rural Counties, a coalition whose territories include watersheds that supply 80 percent of California’s developed water. 

The lawsuit contends CalFed ultimately would exert leverage over that water – either directly or by forcing counties to tap their groundwater supplies – in order to meet what it says are unsustainable demands. 

“CalFed perpetuates the same old mistakes, including the promise of water that simply isn’t there even in robust rainfall years,” said RCRC Chairman Tom Bamert, an Amador County supervisor.  

“California can’t continue to promise more water than is available for urban growth.” 

Many of RCRC’s counties have approved local laws barring the export of groundwater.  

The coalition is joined in its suit by the Central and South Delta Water agencies and several San Joaquin farm organizations. 

CalFed spokeswoman Margaret Gidding hadn’t seen the suit, but said the complaints aren’t new. 

“We’ve worked very hard to settle these concerns that we’ve heard throughout our program,” she said.  

“We have come up with what we think is a balanced program.” 

CalFed is a consortium of state and federal officials, water experts, consultants, irrigation district executives, environmentalists, biologists and others.  

It was created five years ago to seek a compromise between warring northern counties and southern water districts. 

Its goal is to protect the environment of the Sacrament-San Joaquin River Delta east of San Francisco while providing enough water for farmers and cities to the south. 

The suit contends CalFed’s proposals fail to follow environmental standards. 

CalFed, endorsed by Gov. Gray Davis and the Clinton administration, envisions some $8.6 billion worth of projects over the next decade, including delta protection, conservation programs, major expansions of the Shasta and Los Vaqueros reservoirs and a 15 percent increase in water pumped from the delta.