Sunday, April 28, 2019

Liz Writes Life 4-24-19


April 24, 2019

Liz Writes Life

Protect Our Water

Scott Valley Protect Our Water will meet this Thursday, April 25, 2019 at the Fort Jones Community Center at 7 p.m. Bring a dessert to share. Brandon Criss, who is chairman of the Siskiyou Co. Supervisors’ Board, will speak on a variety of issues.  

Klamath dams

“Removing the Klamath dams is not a done deal!” said Richard Marshall, chairman of the Siskiyou Co. Water Users Assoc. He announced the group’s annual dinner and fund raiser will be Saturday, May 4, 2019 at the Miner’s Inn Convention Center starting at 4:30 p.m. Silent and dessert auctions will be held and include three firearms: A Remington 700 6.5 Creedmore with scope, a Ruger precision bolt-action rifle 17 caliber magnum and a S&W MP Shield 40 cal pistol. Call Kathy Bergeron at 530-842-4400 to get your tickets. They are $30 each.

More on dams

There are a myriad of issues regarding Klamath dam removal that have not been addressed by Klamath River Renewal Corp., whose sole purpose is to destroy four hydro-electric Klamath dams.

Loy Beardsmore is a homeowner near the Copco reservoir. She has become a spokesperson for the Copco residents, who are worried they may lose their groundwater wells if the Klamath dams are removed and the reservoir dries up. She sent a letter with significant questions to the contractors that are currently working on monitoring the groundwater wells situation. She recently received a response suggesting she shouldn’t worry as there will be mitigations, but has not received any specific answers. This is not her first letter of concern that has been sent, so frustration is mounting.

I was impressed with Loy’s questions and shocked that the contractors for KRRC have yet to answer them. The drawdown of water in Copco Reservoir is planned for next year or early 2021. Seems like the homeowners and ranchers within the affected area should have concrete answers regarding the reliability of their water. Below is Loy’s latest letter to the contractor.

Dear Mr. Swann,

We are Copco residents. I am also the Copco Community Liaison.  I understand that CDM Smith/you are working with the KRRC and I have some questions about well monitoring/possible mitigation you and the KRRC are hopeful to perform at Copco Lake.  I have a few questions that I believe only you can answer concerning our wells, since I asked the KRRC (Dave Meurer) some of these questions months ago with no answers or no definitive response to questions as they don't have the expertise to answer them. 

1.      I understand that you have been awaiting the arrival of equipment needed to begin well monitoring. Do you have any dates as to when that will occur since it has been since last September that this was to have started?

I also have a few other questions to ask if dam removal is approved by FERC and moves forward.  Copco residents have been assured by the KRRC and the SWRCB that if our well were to be compromised, monitored or not, since we are within the 2.5 miles of the reservoir that any problems would be fully mitigated, IF it can be shown to be due to reservoir drawdown.

 2.  If you have not monitored our well, but is compromised, what will we need to show to prove it was because of drawdown of the reservoir?  Will you take us at our word that we didn't have problems before dam removal and then we might after drawdown?

3.  We have been told we would be provided temporary water.  If multiple wells (20+) around Copco are compromised at the same time, up to how many wells can you provide with temporary water at once?

4.  We are wondering how long it would take to have temporary water brought in if we experience a loss of our wells?  Would it be within a day or two, week, longer?

5.  How long would it take to connect the temporary water to our existing pressurized tanks?

6.  We were told this would be potable water. Is this true?

7.  Where would you get this water?

8.  How large will these tanks be and how often will these tanks be filled?

9.  Will these tanks also be capable of providing irrigation water to our plants and gardens if problems cannot be mitigated before summer?

10.  Will these tanks be capable of providing enough water for livestock?

11.  Within the 2.5-mile radius around Copco, this includes agricultural land as well as ranches.  Some of these properties have multiple wells, so will you provide temporary water to them?  How many of these wells will you mitigate?

12.  How would you connect this temporary water to our existing water system?

13.  Our pressure tank is in our garage (other residents have placement in other challenging areas), so how would you run pipes into the garage without having to leave our garage door open in some way?

14.  Since drawdown is to occur during the winter months when temperatures are below freezing, we have asked how temporary water tanks and pipes would be protected from freezing.  We were told they would be insulated and heated, but can you please explain how this would be performed?

15.  It's also our understanding that to heat these tanks and pipes, it would require a separate electrical junction box be installed.  Will CDM Smith perform this task?  Will CDM Smith obtain and pay the permit fees for this?

16.  Who will pay for the heating for the tanks and the pipes?  Who would be the receiver of such bills?

 17.  Since this will all occur during winter, will you be able to drill a new well, if necessary, or will it have to wait until spring when the land thaws?

18. What if a new well cannot be drilled near the existing well?  How will you determine a new site? What if a new site is not possible due to required distances from septic tanks, etc.?

19.  Are you going to apply for all the permits for temporary water tanks, possible new well drilling, and will you pay for these?  How long will that process take to get these permits?

20. Our well and others are NOT listed in the 2012 Detailed Plan, the Definite Plan, nor on the SWRCB's Draft EIR.  Many vacant lots exist around Copco, but these lots do have wells.  Will you mitigate all of these wells?  Do you know the location of these lots and wells, as well the potential number of these wells since they are not documented in the above-mentioned documents?

I look forward to the answers to these questions. 

Best regards, Loy Beardsmore 

Hum, if KRRC and its contractors can’t answer these questions about this specific issue, how in the world could they undertake the gigantic problem of removing huge dams without it becoming an environmental disaster?

Liz Bowen began writing ranch and farm news, published in newspapers, in 1976. She is a native of Siskiyou County and lives near Callahan. Columns from the past year can be found at: lizwriteslife.blogspot.com. Call her at 530-467-3515.

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