Amador County – About 30 people spoke last week against the East Bay Municipal Utility District 30-year plan that includes making a bigger Pardee Reservoir, during a series of scoping sessions that concludes this week in Oakland.

Foothill Conservancy’s President Katherine Evatt spoke against the expansion, and said she was happy the agency would look into partnering with Los Vaqueros Reservoir, and suggested water recycling can be more robust. She said Middle Bar Reach access was important because Amador County has very few rivers where people can learn about rivers.

Also speaking against Pardee expansion was Chris Chutes of California Sportfishing Protection Alliance, who said flooding the Middle Bar Bridge would remove a nice two-county fishing facility.

Peter Bunting, retired U.S. Forester and Native American Program Manager, and Vietnam War veteran, said he has seen a 2-star general take to task a 1-star general, saying: “What part of ‘no’ don’t you understand?”

Bunting said losing Middle Bar Bridge would be dangerous to fire safety, and pointed to the 2009 Station Fire as an example. The fire burned in 63 areas, burning more than 525 square miles of wildland, from July to November.

Bunting said the importance of the “willow gathering” area on the Mokelumne River in Middle Bar could be seen in the Smithsonian, where a local gourd maker’s work can be found, or during a recent weaver’s association show in Ione, when featuring hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of crafts made from willow fronds.

East Bay’s Director of Water & Natural Resources Richard Sykes said enlargement of Pardee may not occur for 10-20 years, if ever. He said the Utility just completed a new diversion point of water from the American River, and the economy has soured since the beginning of the 2040 plan. But he said the plan must be scoped to the level appropriate, and tough impacts noted, with mitigations.

He said he wants to work with opponents to find what impacts will happen and how to mitigate them. The Middle Bar Bridge could be raised and extended, to keep it there. He said willows grow quickly, and the plantings could be thickened to make up for the loss in the “willow gathering area.”

All comments will be addressed by the Utility in a Programmatic Environmental Impact Report. The comment period on the scoping for the East Bay Water Supply Management Program ends July 31. For information, contact East Bay MUD.

Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.