Public speaks out for Tuolumne River

In September hundreds of people turned out at public hearings to support protecting the Tuolumne River.

At a series of five hearings all around the Bay Area and northern California, 90% of the speakers expressed serious concerns about the proposal for San Francisco to divert an additional 25 million gallons of water per day from the Tuolumne. The hearings were called to receive comments on the draft Program Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission's (PUC) Water System Improvement Program. Speakers favored the $4.3 billion seismic upgrades to the Hetch Hetchy water system, but made strong arguments against withdrawing more water from the Tuolumne.

Many non-traditional allies - including the Tuolumne County Farm Bureau, the Tuolumne Utility District, and the Modesto Irrigation District - joined in the consensus. Excellent comments were made in support of the potential to meet future water demand through conservation, efficiency, and recycling. San Francisco planning commissioner Kathrin Moore called the EIR "backwards-looking", referring to its lack of consideration for the effects of global climate change and to its focus on taking more water from the river.

The Tuolumne County and San Francisco Boards of Supervisors have passed resolutions opposing additional diversion. The San Francisco Board has considerable influence over the process - in particular, it will hear any appeal over the approval of the EIR - but it does not have direct control over the PUC, which is an independent "enterprise" department. The Tuolumne County Supervisors on Sep. 25 passed a resolution to "exercise the necessary legal remedies to see that no further water diversions occur from the Tuolumne River," - in other words to sue if necessary.

Environmental groups, including the Sierra Club and Tuolumne River Trust, are challenging the adequacy of the draft EIR.

• The EIR contains inadequate baseline data, and therefore cannot predict future impacts on the Tuolumne River. For example, many fish studies are dated, and in some cases were never completed. Furthermore, there is no analysis of the impacts of global warming on future water quantity and quality.
• Many conclusions in the EIR are based on flawed modeling. For example, the EIR contains inflated projections for future water demand, while underestimating the potential for water efficiency, conservation, and recycling. It projects increased water usage, when other West Coast cities are projecting level or decreased water use, achieved through conservation and recycling.
• The EIR makes faulty assumptions, such as presuming that the Modesto and Turlock Irrigation Districts will agree to water-transfer agreements, despite their expressed opposition to the plan.

What comes next?

Now that the comment period has ended, the San Francisco Planning Department has until May to address the questions that the public has raised, before finalizing the EIR. At that point, the city's Planning Commission will determine whether the EIR has adequately addressed the potential environmental impacts of the program, and will determine whether it should be certified. The PUC will then review the EIR and consider adoption of the program. Any appeals will be heard by the city's Board of Supervisors.

In the meantime, we are planning an aggressive education campaign to inform the public about the project's flaws - and environmentally responsible alternatives. We hope you will join us.

WhatYouCanDo

To work with the Sierra Club on protecting the Tuolumne River, contact or call (510) 848-0800, ext. 316.

The Tuolumne River Trust maintains an e-mail list for updates and action items. To be added, just e-mail Peter -at- Tuolumne.org

Peter Drekmeier, Bay Area program director, Tuolumne River Trust