East Bay Mayor’s Rebuke Of Marin Pipeline Plan Draws Response

MARIN COUNTY, CA — The president of a Marin water agency that serves most of the North Bay county on Friday responded to harsh criticism from an East Bay mayor who publicly rebuked the agency for a proposed pipeline that he asserts would present quality-of-life issues for his city’s residents.

Marin Municipal Water District Board President Cynthia Koehler in a statement to Patch said she disputes most of Richmond Mayor Tom Butt’s assertions but acknowledged that not all his concerns are without merit.

In particular, Koehler noted that her agency hasn’t been as inclusive in the process of developing the proposal as it should have been. She pledged to make sure that doesn't happen again.

Butt in a series of newsletters last month took aim at the proposed approximately eight-mile pipeline that would run across the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge, allowing Marin to import an estimated 12.5 million gallons of water a daily from the Central Valley.

The MMWD has already allocated $2.2 million towards the proposed $65 million project that would deliver water to the North Bay county by next summer, The Marin Independent Journal reports.

The MMWD serves more than 190,000 residents, mostly in southern Marin.

In Butt's estimation, the pipeline is being rushed without proper oversight at the expense of quality-of-life concerns for Richmond residents to a wealthy community that has failed to plan for water shortages that should have been foreseeable since Marin experienced a drought emergency in the late 1970s.

"Richmond is expected to suffer the consequences of poor planning and lack of water conservation by the 14th richest county in America," Butt said, citing adverse impacts his city's residents could experience as a result of the project, including noise, traffic and pollution.

Butt in an Oct. 20 newsletter wrote that "Marin is not serious about the drought. They are still watering lawns and filling swimming pools and will be until at least December. After the 1977 drought, they were warned to plan for the next one, but they did nothing."

Koehler disputes Butt's assertion that her agency "did nothing."

She noted specific actions the MMWD has taken in recent decades to address future droughts including doubling Kent Lake’s capacity, the addition of Soulajule Reservoir as as a seventh reservoir, the construction of a direct pipeline to Sonoma Water’s Russian River system that provides the agency around 25 percent of its water.

Koehler also cited a partnership with the Las Gallinas Valley Sanitary District to provide recycled water (saving potable water for essential uses), the development of a more comprehensive water conservation program, and the addition of an enhanced leak detection team to find and repair leaks on district pipeline.

“Since the last mega-drought of the1970s, the district has made significant improvements to increase our water supply,” she said.

Butt said he wants the proposed pumping station moved from the proposed location of Castro Street and Tewskbury Avenue to an industrial site.

Koehler said her agency is committed to addressing these concerns.

“We are working closely with the City and community of Richmond to identify and address the concerns they have,” she said. “We are committed to working collaboratively to address any identified impacts.”

Koehler acknowledged that her agency needs to do a better job of including the East Bay city in future planning.

“We recognize the district should have been more proactive in our both our outreach and our planning,” she said.

“We are working closely with the City and community groups to schedule public forums to hear their concerns, and provide information about the project.”

Koehler disputed Butt’s assertion that she had ran her sprinkler system on the night of a recent storm as “categorically false.”

“Additionally, the statements regarding the pipeline project moving forward so that Marin residents can continue to water lush lawns and fill swimming pools is incorrect. Water from the pipeline would be used for essential indoor uses.

“The district recently adopted an ordinance banning outdoor irrigation from Dec. 1 - May 31 and filling swimming pools will not be allowed. We are serious about reducing our water demand in both the long and short term.”