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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 04121988 - S.9 1 THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS OF CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA S. 9 Adopted this Order on .—April 12, 1988 by the following vote: AYES: Supervisors Fanden, McPeak, Torlakson and Schroder NOES: None ABSENT: Supervisor Powers ABSTAIN: None --------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------- SUBJECT: East Bay Municipal Utility District Hearing On Water Rationing. The following item was brought to the attention of the Board after the posting of the agenda and the Board unanimously agreed on the need to take action. Supervisor McPeak presented a verbal report of the discussion by the Water Committee on April 11, 1988 relative to conservation plans during a drought. She commented that the State of California had officially declared a drought just yesterday. She commented that the major issues on conservation were threefold, the Board urging East Bay Municipal Utility District to use Delta water, the approach to encourage water conservation, and educational efforts. Supervisor Fanden once again raised her concerns relative to requesting information on water policies of East Bay Municipal Utility District including reservoir capacity, use of reclaimed water, and providing water to new industry. She moved that a member of the Community Development staff attend the East Bay Municipal Utility District hearing on water rationing tomorrow night, April 13 , 1988, and ask questions regarding her concerns. Supervisor Schroder inquired whether any Board member could attend the hearing. Supervisor McPeak advised that she had been requested to speak but would be late in arriving. Therefore, IT IS BY THE BOARD ORDERED that Supervisor McPeak and the Community Development Department staff are AUTHORIZED to give testimony at the East Bay Municipal Utility District hearing on April 13 , 1988 relative to the Water Committee' s verbal. report and questions on water policies raised by Supervisor Fanden. Supervisor Torlakson informed the Board of correspondence he had. received from the San Francisco Bay Chapter of the Sierra Club dated April 1, 1988 on drought concerns and requested staff to respond to the letter. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the Community Development Department is REQUESTED to respond to the attached correspondence dated April 1, 1988 from the San Francisco Bay Chapter of the Sierra Club. 1 hereby certify that this is a true and correct ropy of an action isken and entered on tho minutes of the Board of Supe rs+sors on the date shown. ATTESTED: 1,12 , !la PHIL 13ATCFIELOR., Ciesk of the Board of Supervisors and County Administrator Orig. Dept. : Clerk of the Board O CO cc: Community Development Department By , Deputy County Counsel County Administrator lig. .II � SAN FRANCISCO BAY CHAPTER• SIERRA CLUB ALAMEDA• CONTRA COSTA• MARIN•SAN FRANCISCO 6014 COLLEGE AVENUE, OAKLAND, CA 94618 BOOKSTORE: (415) 658-7470 OFFICE: (415) 6 . (415) 653-6127 Mr. Tom Torlakson RECEIVED April 1, 1988 Supervisor C.C. County Bd. Of Sups. APR 12- 183 651 Pine St. Martinez, CA 94553 PHIL©ATCH ora RK 8 D OF P RVISORS CO A CO Dear Mr. Torlakson: ey oeY Drought has reared its ugly head again and EBMUD is not prepared. Harsh rationing, dead landscape, intra-District fights, financial losses -- all of these are likely this summer if EBMUD staff has its way. Fortunately, there is an alternative. Enclosed is a suggested resolution which we hope you will support at your next meeting. But you must act quickly; the EBMUD Board could make its final decision as early as April 13th. For years environmentalists have urged EBMUD to implement aggressive programs designed to reduce greatly the effects of water shortages upon the District, among them: o conservation and reclamation. o purchase of drought water rights from farmers. o regional sharing of water in times of need. o system design to allow Delta use with minimal impacts. Instead of pursuing these sensible and inexpensive means of securing the District against losses of its water supply, EBMUD has pursued the outmoded, expensive, and environmentally destructive course of new reservoirs and new water diversions. EBMUD's technocratic quest for a big, capital-intensive "fix" has left them with only two options this year. They can impose harsh rationing on the customer and pray for rain or they can belatedly implement some of the projects they should have been working on all along. Of greatest interest: o EBMUD could actually pump water uphill from the Delta into its Camanche Reservoir (used to supply downstream users) in the Sierra foothills and thus free up water from its Pardee Reservoir for use by the District. o The Contra Costa Water District (CCWD) could treat enormous quantities of water for dilution and use by EBMUD this winter. o EBMUD's own treatment plants could be configured to safely treat Delta water heavily diluted with Mokelumne water.All of these options could provide large quantities of water, all involve at most temporary and minor drops in water quality, all could greatly reduce the harshness of the rationing applied to the District, and all of them should already be underway! I urge you to pass the enclosed resolution. It will help to steer EBMUD in the right direction, now and for the future. If you have any questions or wish a Sierra Club Water Committee member to make a presentation to your Council, please call me at the number below and I will do my best to respond. Please send a record of any action taken in this matter to David Fullerton at the above address and to Sanford Skaggs, EBMUD Board President. Sincerely, David Fullerton (540-5226) Chair, Sierra Club Bay Chapter Water Committee encl. P.S. The EBMUD Board of Directors will hold a public hearing on April 13th at 7: 30 p.m. at the Kaiser Auditorium (Kaiser Center, 300 Lakeside Drive) in Oakland to discuss what measures are to be taken for the drought. I encourage you to attend and to present either your personal views or the views of your Council. WHEREAS, 1987 was the fourth driest year on record for the East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD) , and WHEREAS, 1988 has the potential to become the second driest year on record for EBMUD, and WHEREAS, EBMUD is now considering various water allotment plans to reduce summer water consumption and to increase carryover storage for 1989, and WHEREAS, all the allotment plans under consideration will cause great hardship and financial loss to individual customers and animosity between different geographic areas of EBMUD, and WHEREAS, options exist which could greatly increase EBMUD's water supply such as 1) purchasing treated water from the Contra Costa Water District and 2) reserving all Pardee Reservoir supplies for EBMUD by providing Mokelumne River appropriators in the San Joaquin Valley with water pumped from the Delta. WHEREAS, a significant increase in the water supply would allow EBMUD to structure an allotment plan which encourages conservation but which does not cause undue hardship upon its customers, now therefore, be it RESOLVED, that ----------------- urges EBMUD to act as needed to increase this year's supply of water, provided that such water meets all health standards after treatment, and be it further RESOLVED, that when such temporary supplies are assured, EBMUD should reduce the harshness of its allotment system to a level which encourages" conservation, but which avoids large scale economic loss to the District, and be it further RESOLVED, that a copy of this resolution be transmitted to the EBMUD Board of Directors.