w a t c h
D I A B L O Save Mount Diablo
Protecting the Mountain Since 1971
Winter/Spring 2004 No 37
Vote No! on Measure N on March 2
Looking Forward:
Save Los Vaqueros
A "Landmark" Measure To Preserve Open Space
Just four years after completing the $450 million, 100,000 acre foot Los Vaqueros reservoir at ratepayers' expense, the Contra Costa Water District (CCWD) wants to destroy it and build a massive replacement five times its size, at a cost of $1.5 billion. Some SMD members will receive this after the election (others will receive a special mailing prior to the election); the proposal to expand Los Vaqueros will continue for some time. Read more about the issue at www.NoonMeasureN.com
This spring, Contra Costa property owners will have an unprecedented opportunity to protect and preserve our most important remaining natural lands, parks, shorelines and trails. A County-sponsored Open Space Measure mail ballot is anticipated to go before property owners in mid-May. If passed, the Measure would set aside $8 million per year for open space protection and preservation. It would also help fund the much-needed maintenance and enhancement of already existing parklands.
Here's what the district said about the reservoir completed in 1999: "Los Vaqueros will give CCWD customers enough high-quality water to meet their needs, even during a prolonged drought." An expanded reservoir won't benefit Contra Costa - the existing one solved our needs. Tearing down Los Vaqueros represents flushing $100 million in public funds down the drain, endangering our water supply, and includes huge impacts.
Mt. Diablo is one of the many key areas identified for significant funding, should the proposed Measure move forward and be approved. Much of the land surrounding the mountain, and even its very slopes, are privately owned and threatened by development. Acquisition of these areas would enable the protection of environmentallysensitive areas, which provide habitat for several special status species.
Measure N enables the State-the most likely partner-and Southern California water districts to take more water from the Delta, The Measure would also fund harming water quality, parkland, and our pocketbooks. It endan- CCWD’s proposal to expand Los Vaqueros reservoir would drown the Adobe Valley the linking of greenbelts adjagers the health of the Bay and under 150 feet of water in addition to other impacts (Bob Walker/Oakland Museum) cent to Mount Diablo, including Kirker Hills to the North, Delta, destroys up to 2,600 the Tassajara Valley to the South, and to the dwindling agricultural acres of natural habitat and recreational facilities within the Los lands to the East. Linking these areas would provide an essential Vaqueros watershed, and encourages increased development. buffer to encroaching development and urbanization. CCWD's ballot statement is deceptive, is advisory only, and doesn't The Measure would also provide funds to help restore and maintain bind the District to anything. The March 2 vote is premature and existing regional and neighborhood parks and recreational areas, politically motivated since CCWD hasn't completed an Environincluding Tilden and Briones, Black Diamond Mines, Contra Loma mental Impact Report, nailed down partners or funding or defined Regional Park, the Iron Horse Trail, the Lafayette-Moraga Regional their project. We do know that the $1.5 billion cost is proposed to Trail, the Martinez Regional Shoreline, Waterbird Regional Preserve come from environmental restoration funding, an inappropriate use. and Wildcat Canyon Regional Park. The Los Vaqueros watershed is the second largest open space in the The Open Space Measure was launched in 2000 by Contra Costa East Bay, at 19,000 acres almost equal to Mt. Diablo State Park, and County Board of Supervisors John Gioia and Donna Gerber. Since home to many sensitive species. The first project was authorized then, it has been moved forward by an unprecedented coalition of with a similarly vague ballot item in 1988 and during the campaign business, environmental and local leaders through the Coalition for CCWD made many specific promises (many organizations includContinued on page 4
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