Nicasio opposition intensifies over reservoir expansion

Complaints from Nicasio residents continue to pile on the Marin Municipal Water District over its plan to increase capacity at the nearby reservoir.

Feelings of consternation and mistrust were inflamed recently when two residents reported that project surveyors were on their creekside properties without permission.

“We do not feel very respected by this,” Dorene Schiro said during an online meeting Tuesday. “I actually am furious right now, and if you want our lawyers involved sooner than later, this is how you do it.”

“We have trusted you,” Schiro said. “We have wanted to work with you in ways that we could, and this is just not appropriate.”

The session was a “scoping” meeting to collect community comments to guide an environmental analysis of the proposed project at the reservoir.

The proposal calls for modifying the spillway gates at Seeger Dam, which was constructed on Nicasio Creek in 1960 to create the reservoir. The reservoir has a storage capacity of 22,340 acre-feet of water.

The district’s seven reservoirs comprise about 75% of its water supply, holding up to 80,000 acre-feet of water, equal to about a two-year supply. An acre-foot is about 326,000 gallons.

The project would install a 280-foot-long, 4.4-foot-high inflatable rubber gate spanning the spillway crest to increase capacity by about 3,700 acre-feet. The project was selected from several proposals as a short-term and efficient way to increase supply.

The reservoir’s creation put six ranches out of business and left others struggling, leaving pain that lingers today, residents said.

Over the past few months, residents have told district officials that they fear the project could exacerbate flooding along Nicasio and Halleck creeks. They said the community uses well water and is not served by the reservoir or the district’s supply, so they see no benefit from the added storage, only potential drawbacks.

Nicasio residents said flood maps that show current conditions do not match what they experience during heavy rains. Residents complained that the water district has neglected to dredge the creek, and they believe a buildup of sediment has led to more frequent flooding.

Residents have shown district officials pictures and videos of the flooding they experience yearly. Residents say erosion has plagued roads, yards of homes and the school.

“How is it that MMWD can ignore its duties to mitigate the problems that are being caused by the existing dam?” resident Amy Morse asked. “How can you expect us to have any faith in your proposal to install a rubber bladder when your lack of maintenance, inspection and oversight are already damaging our community?”

Matt Pickett, a member of the Nicasio School District board and the landowners’ association, had similar complaints.

“Our community is being asked to sacrifice our land to inundation. Our school is being put at risk, and we are all being asked to accept increased flood danger. For what?” Pickett said. “Before you ask this community to bear the significant permanent costs of this project, you have a nonnegotiable duty to prove its benefit.”

Martha Davis, a member of the landowners’ association, addressed the district board at its meeting, a separate session held Tuesday night. She told the board it is unacceptable that surveyors went onto private properties without permission from the homeowners.

“I don’t care who is responsible for this misstep,” she said. “I’d like to know that the problem has been taken care of and to hear more about the steps that will be taken to make sure that this doesn’t happen again.”

When asked about the complaints, Adriane Mertens, spokesperson for the water district, emailed a statement:

“The District is looking in to the concerns reported yesterday to troubleshoot any hiccups in coordination/communication related to surveying and investigation work for the proposed Nicasio Spillway Modification project. The surveying and investigation work is a large, complex effort with lots of moving parts.”

The public comment period for the scope of the environmental impact report closes at 5 p.m. Aug. 4. Once the scoping period ends, the district will continue studies and investigations used to prepare a draft EIR.​ The analysis will drive the timing of the draft EIR publication.

More information on the project is at marinwater.org/SpillwayModifications.