drought and water supply
MMWD and supply
We're in a mega-drought, right? why are we being forced to build 2.5 million new residences? That's housing for about 7 million people, with no reliable water source.
Our water is drawn from rain driven supplies stored in reservoirs. In reports, MMWD projections rate a 6-year drought "unlikely," but with climate change it is an unknown. Last year the Sierra snowpack evaporated before reaching any meaningful collection points, so areas dependent on that runoff are also squeezed.
In our current situation, if the drought continues, we are projected to run out of water in 4 years. MMWD declined to model a nine-year drought cycle.
The most recent plan on record, the 2021 draft, acknowledges the area is built out, still projects extremely low population growth, and has not planned for many more hookups.* No projections have been made available reflecting a sudden population influx of 35,000.
We know now that 14,500+ new hookups are expected over the next eight years, and that the population will increase dramatically. When will we see a report that reflects these changes? For a water district that expected very few new hookups, how do they expect to handle the volume?
THE 2020 URBAN WATER MANAGEMENT PLAN for MARIN MUNICIPAL WATER DISTRICT, Public Review Draft 5/2021:
https://www.marinwater.org/sites/default/files/2021-06/Draft%20MMWD%20UWMP%202020-1.pdf
Unless Marin actually votes and passes a ballot measure, MMWD can't begin to study desal. Our current MMWD plans are to borrow water from Sonoma (also dealing with drought and a large, mandated population increase), or the East Bay, through an expensive and unbuilt pipe across the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge. Our options are very limited. Fog Collection and recycling water are other ways of harvesting water. None are cheap, and none are ready to be deployed any time soon.
* Combined, the two MMWD documents are over 900 pages long; I have included the most relevant parts on this page, with screen shots below..
GRAND JURY SLAMS MMWD PLANNING
Additional Information
I see that the Grand Jury found many of the issues I wrote about, below.
GRAND JURY REPORT BLASTS WATER SUPPLY PLANNING
Will Houston, The Marin Independent Journal, Novato, Calif. - 6/21/22
Looks like the population growth demanded by CHD hasn't been noticed in projections.
RESERVOIR DRAINED, EVEN LESS WATER AVAILABLE
Anderson Reservoir, near Morgan Hill, shown here on June 30, 2021, has been drained for federally required earthquake upgrades. The loss of storage in the largest reservoir in Santa Clara County is exacerbating water shortages amid the drought. (Photo: Santa Clara Valley Water District)
Sea levels along the coast will rise about a foot by 2050
A “sunny day” flood in Mill Valley, Calif., last month. Such events will become more damaging in the future, scientists predict. Credit...Josh Edelson/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/15/climate/us-rising-sea-levels.html
DESPERATE FOR BUILDABLE LAND
NEW HOUSING APPROVED 150 SHORELINE MILL VALLEY
https://www.marinij.com/2021/11/12/new-housing-approved-in-mill-valley-flood-zone/
By RICHARD HALSTEAD | Marin Independent Journal PUBLISHED: November 12, 2021 at 3:29 p.m. | UPDATED: November 12, 2021 at 3:53 p.m.
Excerpt here, bold added:
"Douglas Wallace, a member of the Tamalpais Design Review Board, said, “Approval of this project would require a real exercise of optimism about future conditions. We know that sea level rise is inevitable. We know that it is accelerating.”
A county public works employee confirmed that the site area has been classified as a flood zone by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Supervisor Stephane Moulton-Peters said the California Department of Transportation is contemplating including the site in a future sea-level rise project. Moulton-Peters, however, added, “The solutions to flooding and sea level rise in this area are going on area-wide, not parcel by parcel. I think this is a good project. I think it satisfies a number of needs. It is well-designed.” Supervisor Katie Rice concurred. She said, “I actually do think this is a good project for the site.”
O’Donnell is claiming title to waivers and incentives provided by the state’s density bonus law based on the fact that the company is proposing to make two of the residential units affordable for very low-income people.
The Planning Commission, however, reached the conclusion that the project doesn’t qualify for a residential density bonus because the residential component of the project is indistinguishable from the commercial portion, with the same floor plans, sizes and layouts. Brian Case, a deputy county counsel, said nevertheless, “Staff has indicated there is a residential component; because of that the Housing Accountability Act does apply to the project.”
The incentives and waivers the project will receive under this state law are extensive, allowing the developer to construct a 11,323 square foot building instead of 8,946 square feet; provide eight parking spaces instead of 12 and add an additional 5 feet to the building height to bring it to 30 feet. The requirement for tree canopies has been reduced from 25% to 5%. The requirement to provide 1,000 square feet of open space will be waived.
Bereket said that under state law in order to deny O’Donnell these waivers and incentives the board would have to make a finding that the requested waivers would result in a specific adverse impact, cause a public health or safety concern, be contrary to law, or cause harm to the environment or historical property or resources. He said such findings couldn’t be made."
ARE YOU LIVING IN A FLOOD ZONE?
