Although the immediate crisis of the drought has faded, three years of below average precipitation have led to intense political debates over water. Many politicians and pro-use advocates demand more dams (such as a new, much larger, hugely expensive dam structure at Lyons Reservoir at left).
For over two decades, CSERC has been the most engaged environmental group in water issues affecting our vast region. Just in the hydro relicensing for the Stanislaus River, CSERC staff ended up attending 188 days of meetings that focused on the complexity of river management, economics, and recreation.
Based on our decades of intensive involvement, CSERC believes that the first priority is to be far more efficient in using water already available.
The ditch system (below) that delivers South Fork Stanislaus River water to most treatment facilities in our local area is full of leaks. Up to 1/3 of the water is lost – it never reaches a customer. It is illogical to build expensive new dams and flood more river habitat when already available water is being wasted. The most cost effective way to get “new water” is to recycle, conserve, and be far more efficient managing the water we already have available. But in the world of politics, spending millions to dam rivers, divert flows, and maximize water for agriculture and other uses is more popular than being prudent stewards of the water we already have.
