Jackson – The Foothill Conservancy is rallying those who oppose the East Bay Municipal Utility District’s proposed plan to expand Pardee Reservoir to join them at the mammoth water and sewage treatment company’s board meeting in Oakland next week. The seven members of EBMUD’s board will decide on Tuesday, October 13 whether to approve the 2040 water plan. The proposal includes the highly contested option of expanding Pardee and flooding a reach of the Mokelumne River. “The EBMUD directors need to see your face in the fancy EBMUD ‘Water Palace’ to remind them that their decision will affect us and the river we love: real people and real places -- and the real wildlife and fish they support,” said the Foothill Conservancy in an email distributed earlier this week. “We want to pack that room just like we filled the hearings up here,” said the email. EBMUD was criticized for limited outreach in foothill communities when the plan came to public attention earlier this year. A meeting at Amador Water Agency headquarters did not properly accommodate all who attended and a crowd of nearly 300 protestors filled the San Andreas Town Hall at a second outreach meeting in April. The vast majority of local individuals, groups and government entities have publicly objected to the plan, citing potential damage to the river’s ecosystem, the destruction of historic sites like the Middle Bar Bridge and irreversible damage to a river considered important to Native Americans. The East Bay is dependent on the 600-square-mile watershed, which is where 90 percent of its water originates. At the Amador County Board of Supervisors meeting last week, Katherine Evatt of the Foothill Conservancy said “I’ve never seen so many people agree about one issue as they do about this issue.” At that same meeting, Supervisors reinforced their opposition to the proposed dam expansion by approving a second protest letter to EBMUD Director John Coleman. The letter states “that EBMUD should be able to meet the expected demands of consumers even during consecutive drought years through rationing, conservation, recycling, and the Bayside groundwater Phase 2.” Supervisor Louis Boitano called EBMUD’s outreach to the county a “dog and pony show” and said “they need to show us something more.” Those who plan to attend the EBMUD meeting on Tuesday, October 13 can join the Foothill Conservancy on a bus trip to Oakland that is leaving from Jackson. The meeting is at 1:15 pm. Sign up now by calling Randy at 209-295-4900 or e-mailing This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.