At a June 10 Placer County Planning Commission hearing, Royal Gorge LLC's attorney, Randall Faccinto, in regards to Rainbow Holding Company/Royal Gorge LLC's Conditional Use Permit for the bulk sale of drinking water to bottling companies, and to use wetting down dust on Highway 80 construction, made some very interesting statements.
First, after Nick Trifirio, Placer County Planning staff, stated categorically that Rainbow Springs water would not be used to provide water for the Royal Gorge Specific plan (the proposed development at Donner Summit), Mr. Faccinto emphasized that those proposals (from the "Water Alternatives" document Royal Gorge LLC submitted to Placer County November 2007), were "scrapped", "not going to happen", even, an "idea" that was "dead." He was trying to establish that there would be no cumulative impacts to the South Yuba River, because Royal Gorge LLC's earlier plan to use that Rainbow water for development just wasn't going to happen, or at least not for purposes of July 10ths' hearing.
This was curious, as a few weeks earlier, Mike Livak, who was seated beside Mr. Faccinto as Royal Gorge LLC's other representative, had defended Royal Gorge LLC's refusal to sell a miniscule amount of water on a long term basis to neighboring Big Bend cabin owners who are on "boil water" orders because their wells are failing, saying Royal Gorge LLC might need the water for their Donner Summit Development. Either Royal Gorge LLC has reduced the scope of their large proposed development up at Donner Summit, or they've miraculously struck a gusher of water and won't need the water they'd recently proposed piping up from Rainbow Springs.
Or perhaps they've discovered creative new games to play with water rights, and water delivery. There's always the chance they've convinced PG&E to trade water rights--- say, water from Rainbow Springs for some of PG&E's rights up at the Summit--although that's problematic, as Royal Gorge LLC would have to capture and store that water coming from the headwaters of the South Yuba River, which would probably entail some sort of dam on Van Norden Meadow. They could, however, get really creative, and have a whole round robin of rights trading with NID, PCWA, and PG&E (anybody else out there with rights to these over-appropriated rivers- maybe some fish, and people who like to see rivers actually flowing?)
But why bother with water rights at all, if you think you can get your paws on a whole lot of water free and clear of restrictions? That's where Mr. Faccinto made a really interesting comment. In past Placer County documents concerning Rainbow Springs, it has been described as a naturally occurring spring, and a spring that flows to the South Yuba River. Any water collection Rainbow Holding Company has done has been(presumably) carried out pursuant to state water rights permits, the earliest of which dates back to the 1930's.
However, when Mr. Trifirio, Placer County planning, erroneously described the water rights involved as "riparian", Mr. Faccinto hurried to assert that his client had groundwater rights, saying, as the client was the overlying landowner, they could do what they wanted, "Our water is to deal with as we wish." Remember that comment, as it could be Royal Gorge LLC's new theme song.
Now, a CUP hearing, even on a use that has taken water from the South Yuba River for 20 years without permits, had nothing approaching a genuine CEQA analysis, and was basically rubberstamped by the Placer County Planning Commission, isn't the proper forum to hash out water rights. The County Planner could be forgiven for mistaking a riparian right for a permitted right, or vice versa, because California water law is not only highly complex, it sometimes borders on the illogical. Presumably, though, Mr. Faccinto knows the water taken from Rainbow Springs is subject to state water permits, and, in the big scheme of things, even regarding ground water, no right is absolute, as the water belongs to the people of the State of California, and things like basin plans can trump a single landowner's rights any day.
But there is probably method behind Royal Gorge LLC's counsel's odd assertion of Rainbow Holding company having newly sprung groundwater rights. Up at Donner Summit, Royal Gorge LLC's ambitious plans to remake a low key cross country ski resort have been stymied by a few factors, the most intractable being the inability to find a method of sewage disposal that won't overburden the South Yuba River, and the inability to comply with California's "Show Me the Water" laws in a meaningful way. The little Serene Lakes, unless they are seriously tinkered with, something the locals are markedly resistant to, cannot supply enough water to slake the thirst of up to 1000 units of condos, hotels, houses, and commercial development.
Hence, Royal Gorge LLC has hitched the future of their plans to ground water, both ground water possibly located on their lands, and Sierra Lakes County Water District's (SLCWD) two wells. There are considerable problems with relying on groundwater to serve such a large development. These problems can be summed up briefly as water quality, and water quantity and reliability.
Water Quality
Water drawn from wells in Sierra rocks can be chock-a-block full of minerals, some of which are toxic. Up at Donner Summit, arsenic and manganese are commonly occurring contaminants, but there can be a whole range of nasties, including radiological contaminants, VOCs/SVOCs, and,as noted in a nearby Lahontan Basin water quality study, pollution occurring "where single-family septic systems have been installed, especially in hard rock areas." Hard Rocks R us, and the Summit is riddled with old septic systems, not all of which are functioning adequately.
SLCWD has two wells, both of which are reserved for back-up emergency use. One well is contaminated with an unhealthy helping of arsenic, and the other is laden with manganese. Arsenic needs no introduction, as everyone knows it's poisonous. It can be filtered out, but it can never be completely removed from water. As many people don't want even a hint of arsenic in their drinking water, most SLCWD customers have felt well looked after by the district's policy of saving the water for fire fighting and other emergencies.
The nearby sister well to the 'arsenic and old lace' bore contains manganese, a constituent that is a nuisance, as it clogs intake pipes, wrecks washing machines, and leaves a nasty scum floating in your teacup. It also poses a danger to the very young, and those with impaired immune systems. It is particularly hard on the liver, and, in areas with high manganese concentrations in the water, parents are counseled not to mix baby formula with it.
Again, SLCWD has refrained from adding this witches' brew to our drinking water. However, late last fall Royal Gorge LLC pushed the district to conduct flow tests on these wells, and, recently, tried to get the district to agree that these wells could be brought on as drinking water supplies. The district, thankfully, did not concede this point, and at least as of this date still reserves the wells for emergency use only.
Water Quantity And Reliability
Water quantity and reliability are real wild cards in the Sierra. Most wells are tapping fractured rock aquifers, which have not been subject to a substantial body of study. Today, June 11, at Lawrence Berkeley Labs in Berkeley, California, there's a meeting called to discuss a fracture hydrology investigation of the western Sierra, a proposed "first of its kind" investigation. The goal of the investigation is to address the lack of comprehensive scientific data on fractured rock ground water sources, in order to inform sustainable land use decisions. Dr. John Suen of CWI/CSUF, Dr. Hui-hai Lu and Dr. Yu-shu Wu of UC Berkeley's Lawrence Berkeley National Labs, and Gary Temple of Sierra and Foothill Citizen's alliance are spearheading this study, and inviting partners.
Closer to home, Serene Lakes Donner Summit Conservation Association (SLDSCA), in conjunction with other groups, has recently applied for grant funds for a Donner Summit Region Water Projects Study. Both SLCWD, and Donner Summit Public Utilities District (DSPUD) endorsed the application by SLDSCA in February of 2008. At the March board meeting of both SLCWD, and DSPUD, Mike Livak, of Royal Gorge challenged the boards' decisions, and attempted to get them to withdraw their endorsement of SLDSCA's application. Please note that the respective board's participation in the study did not extend beyond approval of the grant application. Mr. Livak's attempts were unsuccessful.
Why would Royal Gorge, who two years in a row, has had drilling rigs coming in from as far away as Oregon, hydrogeologists, and for all we know, some of the best dowsers in the world searching their lands for a water source object so vehemently to a Summit- wide hydrogeological study, and what's more, one that would be carried out by card-carrying hydrogeologists?
I can think of a couple of reasons. First, let's look at water quality. The water they've recently claimed to have found could be just full of ick, whether mineral contaminants, or, contamination left over from old horse stables , and ancient festering leach fields. Heck, there could even be Radon in those wells, not something most folks are terrifically comfortable with.
Royal Gorge LLC will have to hook into SLCWD, and feed that water into SLCWD's larger system, and current customers might not want to exchange their fairly pure lake water for a swill of unknowns, no matter how much high tech, probably expensive filtration is laid on. Further, even if Royal Gorge LLC ponies up for those techie filtration systems, the ongoing costs of operation will be borne by all SLCWD customers, not just those who move into the new development, as Community Facility District financing doesn't cover anything beyond the capital improvements. Hello higher water bills, for a product you might not want to mix any Koolaid with......
Second, and here's where Royal Gorge LLC's attorney Mr. Faccinto's comment of ,"Our water is to deal with as we wish" comes in. There's a very good chance that the ground water Royal Gorge claims to have found draws from the same sources as other people's wells, whether Palisades Lake, the numerous private properties out Pahatsi/Kidd Road, or even the watershed of Serene Lakes and Palisades Lake. If Royal Gorge LLC starts pumping water out of their new wells, it might decrease other people's supplies, leading to drying up pre-existing wells, and a possible reduction of Serene Lakes and Palisades Lakes volume. It's important to conduct a study of the whole basin, both to develop at least a rudimentary understanding of the interrelationship of surface water and ground water, and to insure there is not "double accounting" of water, in order to assure there are real, "wet" supplies, as opposed to "paper" water supplies.
Also, when assessing available water supplies, it's important to factor in a few dry, low snow winters, global warming, and the possibility that an inadequately tested well in fractured rock can suddenly show up dry, as it's recharge period may be many, many years. Should Royal Gorge LLC be able to claim they have groundwater adequate to supply their huge proposed development, and get Placer County to approve it, only to find out that in reality fractured rock aquifers don't produce a consistent, predictable supply of water? If Placer County approves Royal Gorge LLC's development on the basis of fractured rock water supplies, and that water dries up, then what happens? Does Royal Gorge get to draw Serene Lakes down to the mud? What are the water quality/supply implications of that for the existing community, who have funded their water district for many, many years?
"Our water is to deal with as we wish." What a callous thing to say, when our fisheries are collapsing, and when parts of the state are confronting water rationing, frantically shuffling water supplies to water parched and dying crops.
"Our water is to deal with as we wish." Royal Gorge has proposed, to date, dredging Serene Lakes, raising the dam on Serene Lakes, which would flood private property, building a dam on Van Norden Meadow, which is the headwaters of the South Yuba River, building a dam down on Serena Creek, taking water that flows to the North Fork of the American River, and building two lakes over on what is now a cross country ski resort, filling them with water that by state water right permits belongs to SLCWD.
California is facing a new, hard edged reality, of global warming, and uncertain water supplies. Is Royal Gorge LLC, whose employee asserts "our water is to deal with as we wish" grounded in this new reality, or mired in a type of venality peculiar to developers? No water in the state of California is anyone's "water to deal with as they wish," and heaven help us all if planning decisions are still based on that selfish, last century concept.
By submitting a comment you consent to our rules. Please use your real first and last name, not a nickname or alias. Thank you.
