Editor’s note: The following is a letter to the editor. The opinions expressed in this letter are those of the writer, and do not necessarily reflect those of The Mendocino Voice. If you would like to submit a letter to the editor feel free to write to info@mendovoice.com.
Dear Editor,
I commented by email and watched the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors meetings so far in November.
Three supervisors are in support of destroying a beautiful lake, destroying the Russian River watershed and also allowing Lake Mendocino to dry up. Because how does a diversion work without water? Diversion is a delusion without water to divert.
These supervisors didn’t listen to one fact. The only reason water exists now is because it was stored and filled by Lake Pillsbury. Without the storage, diversion will allow all water to flow away. Completely away. No water will exist, for northern or lower Eel or Russian, for maybe 60% of the hottest time of the year. Maybe more than that in a drought.
Water travels very quickly to the ocean. Water is a very destructive force given record rainfall and no holding it back. But instead of more storage, which both rivers need, the supervisors are destroying what storage there is to use. With new technologies, fish can have access, go-arounds, and ladders. But this wasn’t even offered.
Only two supervisors get it. Only two are visionaries, seeing the water flow away without any benefit. Only two see the impact on their communities, their people’s dreams destroyed, from removing the water storage capabilities.
Makes me sad to see a gorgeous pristine lake destroyed, sad for ranchers to lose livelihoods and sad three supervisors chose a huge corporation’s wants over their neighbors’ needs.
Catherine Lair
Ukiah
Catherine has no idea what she is talking about.
Catherine, the lake is not pristine. It is man made and not natural. The Eel river has been destroyed because of the diversion & the Russian river has been changed into something it is not supposed to be. All that water that is diverted should be flowing north through the Eel, not south.
Stop being selfish & stupid.
I read the article that states, roads (erosion, silt depositing) are the biggest contributor to the demise of salmon. Fish & game article. I read that drought contributes. 1970s hard failure of salmon. Horrific death of Chinook. Drought 1976. That was Trout Unlimited agency, article. The dams, where in way before 1970. I also read the Cannabis new consortium wants more water. I also read that the Tribe will only divert for large sums of money, which can go up with time. When they want to. I do know what I am talking about, because I read to gain knowledge.
The problem with Russian River agriculture is that they already have two reservoirs of their own, and it still isn’t enough to satiate the never-ending demand for new vineyards. Every wealthy playboy wants his own vineyard in Sonoma and will pay a pretty penny for a flat piece of ground with some water to show off to his friends. The amount of money flying around is incredible.
Wayne,
You can’t be serious. A lake can’t be beautiful if it’s man made? I spend over 100 days a year on Lake Pillsbury and in my opinion is it one of the most beautiful lakes in California, also one of the best Bass fishing lakes in the state. My guess is you have never been there and literally have no idea what you are talking about. Further, without the lake there will be NO WATER in the eel many days of the year! Even worse in drought years. You’re misinformed, many marine biologists have stated the the river is better off for the fish with the dam in place providing year round cool water. This is about money and politics not fish!
And you sir have no clue. True lake Pillsbury and Mendocino are not natural lakes. This is true for most of the developed world. But not recognizing the natural ecosystem and adaptation that has spread through these local areas such as continuing flows of cold water during hot summer days to sustain fish holding in the deep pools down stream. The many elk herds surrounding lake Pillsbury and Potter valley. The fish that continue to spawn in the 3500 miles of undamned Eel river system with only 86 miles not accessible due to no fish ladder. The amount of harm to wild life and humans caused by the destruction of Scott dam unless you’re proposing to get rid of people since there will be food and water shortages destroying down stream communities.
The existing reservoir serves a purpose and works. If you tear something out that serves thousands of people, you had better have a plan to put into service something that will work the same or better, immediately. Where is the plan?
IMHO this proposal sends a signal that the regime wants people to sell their lands and move away. Investors are salivating over land in CA but they know that many won’t sell. So the people collaborating with investors are trying this — take away the landowners’ access to water or make it more expensive for them. A land-transfer all in the name of “habitat restoration.”
The Eel River is the real sufferer here. Learn your geography about te water in Lake Pillsbury. It runs true another direction and is diverted fir the dam so it can be pilfered for the south.
This is such a joke! The lake resides in lake county and federal land! Why do these supervisors think they can decide! I am glad for the two who did not vote! This is all a bad decision! PG&E could walk away! Techno could improve fish passage and the hydro electric power. They are selling us out! They make up stories! Why would we make 600,000 people suffer! Why aren’t they planning and building water storage? Why rip something out and have no infrastructure ready? Why aren’t the Potter Valley Tribes involved and included? What about the Lake County Tribe? Before World War 2 began Covello was going to be a reservoir! So even then they knew they needed water storage! What about the 100year old ecosystem that has grown out of the lake. Caltrop receives money from PG&E! What about wildfires? What will happen when there is no water? It is funny because Ukiah is raising water rates! There is a lot of agriculture that will cease not just grapes! No one is listening to the people who have skin in the game! I care about the fish but we need to coexist. Stop over fishing the ocean! How will they spawn when the rivers are dry? When our homes are worthless because there is no water what will happen? When the economy gets worse because the farmers and recreational dollars are gone then what? The forest was saved due the lake? Did you know the elk will be culled for the fish? So it seems like there is more to lose than gain ! Did anyone see how many fish made it up this year? There were a lot! Let’s save this water! Stop Gavin and Jared and PG&E! Give it to the Potter Valley and Lake County Tribes to run!
Amen brother!
Freya thank you for your logical intelligent statement.
Ask lake county and potter valley farmers if they’re prepared to pay to keep the dam, they’re not. They’re looking for a billion dollar bailout from Santa Trump which will never come. The supervisors are showing leadership by looking for a path forward rather than fighting the inevitable. Dams don’t last forever, it’s time to accept reality.
It’s wild how few people actually understand what is happening here and how little control the supervisors have. PG&E, a private company (that we can all dislike for several reasons) is choosing to get rid of an aging hydropower project that hasn’t produced any electricity for several years. As a PG&E ratepayer, it makes sense for electricity customers to stop paying for infrastructure that generates no power and is costly to maintain. Lake and Mendocino Counties have benefited from the free water and the lake for recreation, but they haven’t paid a dime for those uses. I don’t see how we can ask electricity customers to keep paying for things when they get no return. It makes ZERO sense for a business to do that (even a shitty one like PG&E). The supervisors can beg PG&E to keep the dams, but they never will, so why not try to keep some of the benefits coming by working with PG&E and others. I get that people would prefer to keep getting water for free, but that’s not going to happen.
It is not free! PG&E is going to have the customers pay for the tear down! So we will be paying either way! If used properly it could be generating more power! We actually pay for the water! And if you live anywhere down from this you will be affected! They have no backup plan!
Freya, They’ll have to pay to tear it down now or in 10, 20, 30 years after it loses millions more, PG&E is cutting their losses. Here’s why this type of wishful thinking is so dangerous: this is a very small, very inefficient, very old hydropower project. The reservoir is filling with sediment, and to reduce the risk of failure during an earthquake, it cannot be filled to capacity. You make the point that “if used properly,” the dams could be useful again, but PG&E doesn’t want the project; they tried to sell it, and no one wanted it, and FERC tried to give it away, and no one wanted it. While you may want it, that doesn’t make it a viable business venture and taxpayers should not be on the hook for such an enormous liability so a few special interests can keep their sweetheart deal. Do the math on what a billion-dollar dam project would cost property owners in the region; it does not pencil out. This is why the new diversion is the most feasible option to keep some of the benefits of the dams.
Ryan,
You too are misinformed. Ratepayers WILL pay for this, PG&E has already added it to future rates. So rather than pay for about $5MM per year to maintain this dam they will now be paying over ten years for the destruction of the dam, that estimate is between $500MM and over $1Billion. Do the math Ryan you just lost big time.
The thing is this issue got no attention until it was too late to affectively challenge the process. Now the Mendocino County board of supervisors are afraid of rocking the proverbial boat on behalf of their constituents who are going to be negatively affected by the dam removal. When the property values decline further due to this action people should start demanding the county take the declines into account on their property tax bills. The county has already seen declines approaching 20% in the last five years yet taxes are going up. It’s frustrating when the county says my property is worth $800,000 and in reality if I wanted to sell it wouldn’t bring $600,00.
Ryan while you have some facts you don’t have all! You sound like you do not live in the area! The dam s good for 80 plus years! The price when said in done will be billions! The sediment will be reduced read about the Klamath. Home values drop, farmers are no longer able to produce food. Water becomes scarce! 600, pp people will be affected! The diversion will only work during wet years! The Russian and Eel will run dry! They aren’t coming up with a viable plan. They need to fix what they have or build a new reservoir!
I very much live in the area and am deeply concerned about the same issues you are. The problem is you don’t seem to understand what is feasible and what is not. Shouting about the problem without offering viable solutions or even understanding the facts at hand is deeply frustrating for those trying to figure this out. For example, the diversion will work in the wet season, not only in wet years (as you claim), and will top off Lake Mendocino each year, which is what is most important for RR water users. Even in drought years, water will come through the tunnel. Now, of course, this is not a complete solution for the farmers in Potter Valley, but that’s a couple of hundred people, not the 600,000 everyone talks about. Show me a business plan for how to keep the dams and I’ll happily listen, but you simply can’t sell water for what it would cost. No one is coming to solve this for us, I am glad locals are stepping up to do something about it.
The klamath is doing great
Most water is controlled by a few people that put money in people pockets. Look at POM they literally stole the water rights and own things that take so much water. Wine grapes, pomegranates, and nuts. They are a married couple who stole most of CA water and Newsome helps by letting them keep do it. Money money money
To all concerned,
Wow! I am impressed with the public engagement on this issue and, we should be. It may be that all sensibility is lost at the hands of well funded politics but, I would like to say that it would be wonderful if some one hundred years ago we would have done nothing to change the environment. However that did not happen and so a population ever increasing by generations did do something. And perhaps it also was due to money and politics. But, people were encouraged and families and businesses were built and so on it goes. So, what will the right thing to do be? First of all, with the obvious change in seasonal rains and perhaps no way to really predict the outcome, we should maybe plan to have water necessary to fight fires which are an increasing and inevitable problem. Removing that which facilitates that is not too smart. Where it evolves fish and the industries that are suffering, let science and engineering further develop. I do love nature. We have caused change and have caused the demise of some aspects of it. I will say that for the many who will have nothing to fall back on if some drastic changes are made, it will be devastating. Right now we need to find some thoughtful solutions that won’t destroy what we have for recreation as well as sustenance. Thank you, and may God bless us all!