Urging of Attendance on Irrigation Project

Russian River County Sanitation District Irrigation Reliability and Beneficial Reuse Project: Public Hearing
Hear testimony on the Russian River County Sanitation District Irrigation Reliability and Beneficial Reuse Project Draft Environmental Impact Report

Supervisor’s Chambers
Sonoma County Administration Bldg.
575 Administration Dr., Room 102A
Santa Rosa, CA 95403-2887
Phone 707-565-2241

Next Tuesday is a VERY important meeting on the massive irrigation project
planned by SCWA for little Guerneville’s system. (10 AM Board of Supervisor’s
Chambers on July 10th)

This project involves 32 miles of pipeline to the Graton/Green Valley area
on two different routes leading to the same destination. Formerly the two
routes were separate alternatives, but they have now been merged into one
alternative. It intends to offset potable water supply by irrigating with
treated wastewater. This project is overkill like I have never seen before.
A similar project described in a 1998 EIR cost about $15 million. Given the
big cost hike in construction materials, we believe this project, if built,
could go much higher than that.

It is part of a major Treatment Plant expansion that is simply not needed
for current ratepayers. Along with a few other components that are being
considered separately, it would double the amount of sewage that could be
handled at the Guerneville TP. This is an EIR that is one of three
expansion projects that are all being considered separately. (More storage,
a new disinfection system and a pipeline from Camp Meeker and Occidental are
all being considered in separate EIRs.)

They have no users signed up for the water and they didn’t even identify
POTENTIAL users in the EIR. They said they would build the project on an as
needed basis, depending on who wants the water. They have no cost figures
in the DEIR so we have no idea what the capital costs will be, nor the
operational costs. They have eliminated discussion of many categories of
impacts, including land use, public services, population and housing, etc.
claiming that this is only a pipeline with no significant impacts in those
categories.

Their alternatives analysis consists of a few pages in the back where they
mention a few alternatives and then dismiss them in a few pages. Part of a
local (Guerneville) solution analysis is dismissed and another part is
tagged onto the massive project with no details and no way to separate it
from the monster project.

I am attaching a letter that we composed asking people to sign and turn in.
Comments are open until July 20th. You can sign and turn in this letter or
use it for a template to write your own. If you have questions, I would be
happy to answer them. Simply respond to this email with questions.

Please consider coming to the meeting even if you don’t want to speak.

We are working with groups in the Green Valley Rd. area. We also know the
Sonoma County Water Coalition is very concerned. We have alerted people in
the Guerneville area and some of them will be there. Unfortunately, many of
our Guerneville supporters are summer people who don’t generally attend
Supervisor meetings, but many have submitted letters.

Please try to attend. We need your help.