BREAKING: Rural California County Appeals to President Trump: Save Our Water!
The Lake County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to ask President Trump to save the Potter Valley Project, a vital water source for the fire-prone rural region.
The Lake County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Wednesday to ask the Trump administration to intervene and save the Potter Valley Project dams.
Lake County is home to Scott Dam and Lake Pillsbury, but the community says they have been shut out of discussions.
In part, the board’s letter reads:
The Board of Supervisors representing Lake County in the state of California has grave concern destroying and draining Lake Pillsbury, an 80,000 acre-foot lake in Northern California, would constitute an expensive and irresponsible gamble with regional water supply in an area that has repeatedly been threatened by catastrophic wildfire events. We ask your collective support in ensuring the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and your Federal Agencies take seriously the potential for profound human consequences.
The Potter Valley Project supplies water to 600,000 people in Northern California by diverting 2% of the Eel River to the Russian.
“Lake Pillsbury is one of the main reasons Lake County survived the 2018 Mendo Complex fire,” Eddie “EJ” Crandell tells me. Crandall chairs the Lake County Supervisor and serves as vice chairman of the Robinson Rancheria of Pomo Indians.
The board also sent comments to Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) and Governor Gavin Newsom.
“Lake County stepped up, they broke rank and did something very important for their community instead of catering to special interests, Sacramento, and representatives from D.C.,” says Mendocino County resident Ken Foster in response to the news. “I appreciate their integrity, and honesty. Instead of trying to create bureaucracy, and siphon funds while taking away an important, irreplaceable resource they took the responsibility of stating the facts. The right road would be sustainable water, recreation, power, wildlife, forest use, creating jobs, and revenue to the region for generations. Shame on Mendocino and Sonoma counties for playing political games with our homes, communities, land, farms, and natural resources.”
Alicia Hamann, executive director of the radical anti-dam group Friends of the Eel River, warned in the Lost Coast Outpost that reaching out to Trump is short-sighted.
“I would really point out to them that they risk missing out on an opportunity to seek compensation for the loss of the recreation opportunity that is the reservoir,” she said.
It turns out Lake County residents may prefer their water, their lake, their community, and their homes to the vague prospect of a government check.
Editor’s Note
In covering this story, I’ve urged the impacted community to
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