Important Water Hearings Monday & Tuesday!

June 27, 2010

WHAT: California Public Utility Commission Public Participation Hearings

WHEN: Monday, June 28, 2010 at 7:00 p.m. in the Monterey City Hall Council Chambers (580 Pacific St., Monterey) and Tuesday, June 29, 2010 at 1:30 p.m. & 5:00 p.m. at the Oldemeyer Center (968 Hilby Ave., Seaside).

These hearings will allow members of the public to “present comments and address issues related to the Regional Water Project, including costs.”

The reservoir impounded by the Los Padres Dam: The Regional Water Project is intended to replace water being illegally pumped from the Carmel River by Cal-Am, but the agreement controlling the Regional Project, as currently written, will not only rip-off the Cal-Am ratepayers and leave them without a say in how the Project is run, but could easily result in the Project failing to deliver enough water to offset the illegal diversions. The PUC can easily fix these problems, but they need to hear from the Cal-Am ratepayers that the community wants the problems fixed. The PUC’s record of doing the right thing on their own isn’t too good. Read the rest of this entry »

Leave a Comment » | Carmel River, Politics, Water | Permalink
Posted by xasauan

San Clemente Dam to be Torn Down After All?

November 16, 2009

The silted-up, unsafe, San Clemente Dam

With its reservoir filled in, the San Clemente Dam is useless for water storage. It prevents steelhead from reaching their spawning grounds and, as the nearly 90 year old structure is fragile enough to fail in even a moderate earthquake, it poses a serious threat to downstream communities. Read the rest of this entry »

Leave a Comment » | Carmel River, Politics, Water | Permalink
Posted by xasauan

Rivers Rise as Deluge gets Rainy Season Underway

October 14, 2009

Well, the remnants of Typhoon Melor proved to be every bit as wet as advertised. As it so often does, Mining Ridge (above Big Creek) took the prize with a whopping 21.34 inches of rain. Accumulations of over 10 inches were common at higher elevations in the Santa Lucia’s and, while we haven’t heard of any serious debris flow problems, the rivers and creeks went from trickle to torrent in only a few hours. Read the rest of this entry »

2 Comments | Big Sur, Carmel River, Fire, Flood & Apocalypse, Santa Lucias, Water | Permalink
Posted by xasauan

Who Owns the Rain?

March 18, 2009

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Engorged with water pirated from its rightful human owners, a Coccora (Amanita calyptroderma) emerges from the forest floor

Just when we were thinking no one could be more dysfunctional than our community and state when it comes to dealing with limited water supplies, the LA Times publishes an article describing how water districts in Colorado are complaining that homeowners using rain barrels to capture run-off from their roofs are stealing water in violation of law. Read the rest of this entry »

Leave a Comment » | Fungus, Water | Permalink
Posted by xasauan

Cal-Am Puts Steelhead and Ratepayers at Risk With Decision to Leave Worthless San Clemente Dam in Place

March 5, 2009

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San Clemente Dam is almost completely filled in with silt and is worthless for water storage – or any other purpose. It is also structurally unsafe and at risk of failure during earthquakes or high flows. This morning (when this picture was taken) the dam was spilling about 1,000 cubic feet per second. On March 10, 1995, the dam survived a 16,000cfs flow that overtopped it completely. Read the rest of this entry »

2 Comments | Carmel River, Water | Tagged: , , , | Permalink
Posted by xasauan

2008 Year in Review

December 31, 2008

Well it’s been an interesting year, here at Xasáuan Today. We’ve looked at the Monterey Peninsula’s water supply problems and picked apart the county’s transportation dilemma. We’ve questioned development on eroding beaches and dissected the Light Brown Apple Moth. We’ve chimed in on local political issues. We’ve gone on some bike rides, examined some mushrooms, and even found time for a visit to Pat Springs.

But nothing gets attention quite like a fire. Read the rest of this entry »

Leave a Comment » | Big Sur, Carmel River, Coastal Development/Erosion, Courts, Cycling, Fire, Flood & Apocalypse, Fungus, History, Insects, Living Wage, On Foot, Politics, Santa Lucias, Transportation, Water | Permalink
Posted by xasauan

Will the Fire Make Monterey’s Water Problems Worse?

August 20, 2008

The Carmel River watershed as seen from Pine Ridge 16 months after the Marble Cone Fire Read the rest of this entry »

2 Comments | Carmel River, Fire, Flood & Apocalypse, Santa Lucias, Water | Permalink
Posted by xasauan

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