Amador County – East Bay Municipal Utility District on Monday outlined a 30-year water plan revision that would defer an alternate to build a bigger dam at Pardee Reservoir, at least until after 2040.

Information officer Charles C. Hardy released details Monday saying East Bay MUD “is preparing to issue a draft revised Program Environmental Impact Report for its Water Supply Management Program 2040 that recommends the District defer the project to enlarge Pardee Reservoir and not include it in its 30-year water plan.”

The 2040 Plan is a long-term plan to ensure water for customers in Alameda and Contra Costa counties during droughts. Hardy said “in the course of conducting the additional analysis necessary to address a court order” on the 2040 Plan’s “environmental documentation, EBMUD determined that it could prepare a plan with a portfolio of supplemental supply options for the next 30 years without including the enlargement of Pardee Reservoir.”

The enlargement “was originally not planned for potential consideration in the near term, and analysis conducted by the District indicated “consideration of that option can be deferred beyond 2040.”

East Bay MUD is revising the 2040 Plan’s “analysis, and new information that EBMUD has developed demonstrates it may be possible to partner with the Contra Costa Water District to acquire additional water supplies from the expansion of Los Vaqueros Reservoir,” which was finalized after East Bay MUD developed its 2040 Plan in 2009. “The possibility for the partnership is among the factors prompting EBMUD staff to recommend going forth with the WSMP 2040 plan without the Enlarge Pardee option.”

East Bay MUD General Manager Alexander R. Coate said the District’s Board and staff worked hard for several years on the long-term planning effort. Coate said the “revised PEIR refines that work and provides additional support for an important and robust plan.”

The revised draft PEIR was to be released Tuesday (Dec. 6) and public meetings on it will be held in Amador and Calaveras Counties and Oakland in January.

The Foothill Conservancy issued a release Monday announcing East Bay MUD’s planned PEIR release. Conservancy Executive Director Chris Wright said “it’s a wise decision that everyone should feel good about. And it looks like a huge victory for the river.”

He said “We have yet to see the EIR, but this announcement indicates that East Bay MUD agrees with us that there are better, less-destructive ways to meet its future water needs.”

Wright and the Conservancy sued the District over its PEIR and expansion of Pardee, saying impacts were not fully studied, and arguing that the Los Vaqueros partnership made more sense.

Wright said “strong, unified” opposition in Amador and Calaveras made a difference, and the Pardee expansion had virtually no local community support.

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