WATER DISPUTE

For many months now, as I cross over the Carmel River bridge at Quail [Lodge] from the 11th green to the 12th tee, I have observed a tremendous flow of water, estimated variously at one to four acre-feet per minute! Now considering we have a dam in which silt has taken up about 2000 acre-feet of the volume and that Cal Am is obligated to seismically retrofit it, would it not make sense to remove the silt? Let me put it another way. During the past six months, I estimate that we’ve allowed about 500,000 acre-feet of water to flow into the ocean. The desalinated equivalent value of that water in energy units is about 1,500 Gigawatts, which has an equivalent value of $150 million. Do you really think desalinated water is a good idea?

We have an abundance of natural water here. We need the resolve and courage to use it wisely.

On the issue of endangered species, I believe fish ladders would address that, so the only endangered species remaining would be the good, parched citizens of the Monterey Peninsula. -Tom Linden | Pebble Beach

WATER DISPUTE II

I participated actively in months of public meetings at the Water for Monterey County forum, and their combined evaluation of all the alternatives was that the Regional Project was the least costly and most environmentally friendly alternative to taking water from the Carmel River (which by the way is enjoying a good year, hence the flow you have observed).

It is briny ground water that is being drawn for the desalination plant, not ocean water.

Experts have estimated it would take well beyond [our] lifetime to remove the silt behind the San Clemente Dam, and about $50 million to buttress it, so the better plan is to reroute the river and eventually remove the dam.

We are losing a lot of runoff water into the ocean, and there are proposals to divert some of that winter season high flow water into an aquifer storage area. That would reduce the amount of desalinated water we will need.

Finally, we do not have an abundance of natural water here in the Carmel River – at least not abundant enough to restore the steelhead population that once ranged above 15,000 fish. The latest count of steelhead migrating up the river past the dam is about 150. Once the desalination plant is built and fully operating, Cal Am is required to stop diverting 13,000 acre feet from the Carmel River (except for about 3,600 acre feet to which they retain rights).

Please don’t oppose the Regional Project based on incomplete information and a faulty analysis. -Lorin Letendre, president, Carmel River Watershed Conservancy | Carmel

THE WEEKLY INSTITUTION

Monterey County Weekly is not just a local paper, it is an institution! Diane Glim,a Weekly team member, volunteered at the U.S. Open as a greeter assisting golf fans at Pebble Beach as they departed the championship. Her shift was from 2-7pm. Diane showed up an hour early on Saturday afternoon. Due to heavytraffic and shortage of buses, it became quicklyapparent that the transportation process was behind schedule. Although she was instructed to return home at 7pm when her volunteer shift was over, Diane insisted on helping all the fans as they waited for buses. She entertained the crowds, and allowed them to use her cell phone to call loved ones. The Chamber of Commerce received great compliments fromhundreds of fans that enjoyed her positive spirit. It was not until 9:15pm that she returned home with a big smile on her face. The Weekly is special because of the great people that work there. -Moe Ammar, president, Pacific Grove Chamber of Commerce | Pacific Grove