Dozens of attendees were not able to find room inside for a public meeting that raised the possibility of expanding Pardee Reservoir Monday evening at the Amador Water Agency's headquarters. Photo by: Courtesy to the Ledger Dispatch

East Bay water officials were flooded with emotional objections to a proposal that would expand Pardee Reservoir and cut off access to a much-loved stretch of the Mokelumne River during a crowded and sometimes testy meeting Monday.

The two-hour evening session was the first chance for many foothill residents to comment on a conceptual plan by the East Bay Municipal Utility District to meet projected water needs 30 years from now. Things started off rocky when Doug Linney, president of the EBMUD board of directors, commented on the nearly 150 people unable to fit into a small board room at Amador Water Agency headquarters on Ridge Road.

"We have a much bigger turnout than we expected. The Beatles will be out in a little bit, I think," he joked to a silent, stone-faced crowd.

Matters remained tense from there, with those who crammed indoors listening intently to EDAW consultant David Blau, as he offered an overview of what he called an "unusual document" that didn't answer many questions. The document he was referring to is a draft program environmental impact report, or PEIR, which EBMUD released last month as part of a process to address water needs through the year 2040.

The public has until April 6 to submit its comments on the PEIR, which must outline the potential environmental impacts in EBMUD's water-generating proposals and how the district would seek to address them. After that, the district's consultant hopes to finish a separate plan document by May 8, with the district to consider adopting that document and certifying the EIR at a board meeting at district headquarters in Oakland in late June.

"Nothing has been determined in a way of specific projects; nothing has been engineered; nothing has been designed," Blau said early on. "This is more a vision for how to keep pace with the need for water in the service areas."

The district's service area currently has 1.2 million downstream customers. Ninety percent of the district's water comes from the Mokelumne River Basin, a 600 square-mile watershed. The district has said it needs more water for critical dry periods, which Blau noted could grow in severity and length as a result of climate change.

"There's been a pretty extensive public outreach program in the last two years. We've had 11 district board workshops," Blau said. He added that the district also worked closely with an 18-member community liaison committee representing the "widest range of views" on how to best solve the district's future water needs.

That became perhaps the most controversial statement, with many of the 30-some people who spoke blasting EBMUD for ignoring foothill concerns. Foremost among them was Steve Wilensky, Calaveras County's District 2 supervisor.

"I'd like to know how you managed to put together a citizens' committee and not include a single person from Calaveras or Amador counties," he said to loud applause. Wilensky challenged district officials to work more closely with an admittedly small upcountry population that finds itself in possession of "65 percent of the state's resources."

"You got millions of dollars on the line to build a bigger dam, and with dubious outcomes for our economy, but also dubious for yours," he said. "Twenty-five cents a month in the bills of the downstream users could invest enormously and make a huge difference in how we steward this land. Why aren't we thinking about that kind of partnership?"

Blau said the district began planning for 2040 water needs more than two years ago, saying environmental and economic objectives became part of the screening criteria by which proposals would be judged. It narrowed its options down to five "portfolios" that work in varying degrees of conservation, rationing, water recycling and increased supplies. The district's preferred portfolio has 10 components, at the center of which is the plan to expand Pardee, which critics castigate because it would flood both the Middle Bar Bridge and Electra run of the Mokelumne River.

"There are pros and cons with each of those five (portfolio options)," Blau acknowledged. "Frankly, none of them, we felt, met the need for water without some really serious, potential fatal flaws."

The Pardee plan is in competition with a major intake and desalinization project that would require the cooperation of four Bay Area water agencies. The Pardee plan may still hold the edge because it would provide more water, but Blau said a final choice may not be made before 2025, when the district will know which option has the financial and political backing to succeed.

Everything, in fact, remains at the conceptual level, Blau added, including how the Pardee plan would work. A study of surrounding cultural resources and how landmarks like the Middle Bar Bridge would be impacted would require engineering studies, which Blau said haven't been done.

But little that was presented Monday sat well with members of the public who got up to speak.

Jackson Councilman Keith Sweet presented a resolution his colleagues adopted last week, opposing the expansion of Pardee and urging the district to focus on conservation.

"I find it very frustrating that, nine years ago, I stood before the East Bay MUD board in Oakland and presented our request that they open the river, a river that had been inappropriately closed for too many years. And now I find myself, nine years later, standing before you, asking that it once again not be inappropriately closed," he said. "We believe that the option of destroying a significant portion of our community's heritage, recreational opportunities and economic benefit is not viable, and that East Bay MUD's ratepayers should not benefit from damage inflicted on our citizens."

Foothill Conservancy executive director Chris Wright, whose group led the charge to open the Mokelumne to the public a decade ago, called the river the "lifeblood of our community and it can't be sacrificed for the convenience of Bay Area residents watering their lawns and filling their swimming pools during drought conditions."

Ted Novelli, chairman of the Amador County Board of Supervisors, said Wednesday he almost wasn't permitted to speak because of the poorly planned locale. "When you have a meeting like this, that's going to affect a lot of people, you should have a room that can accommodate them."

Novelli asked the district to hold additional foothill meetings and told the Ledger Dispatch that county supervisors may consider a resolution similar to Jackson's.

Steve Elias, a Calaveras County resident and member of the Mother Lode chapter of the Sierra Club, said his organization already presented its resolution in opposition, while Keith Franklin, a 20-year resident of Pine Grove, said he learned to kayak on the Electra run of the river and feared losing access to it.

AWA Director Bill Condrashoff said the water agency, which offered tentative support for the Pardee expansion last May, would revisit the topic at its March 26 meeting. Signaling the board's possible change of heart, Condrashoff on Monday got the biggest laugh when he distanced himself from EBMUD officials.

"Can I say something before we go any further? The last woman up here was looking at us like we're East Bay MUD," he said. "We have three Amador Water Agency board members up here. We can't really talk, but this is not our project."

By then, what had been the sternest reproach came earlier from Norman Colstad, who said he would be forced to abandon his home near the river if Pardee was expanded. "What am I supposed to do?" he demanded, voice quivering. "I'm tired of the bureaucracy and the crap that you people are just shoving down our throats. I mean, why can't we just, you know, have you guys go in a room and shoot yourselves."

Even that comment drew scattered applause, but so did the lone statement of support for expanding Pardee. That came from Jackson Valley Irrigation District Director Hank Willy, who noted there are agricultural interests who would depend on increased water supplies.

"Playing (on the river) is fine, but we do need to still grow crops," he said. "We can't expect Mexico to do everything for us."

But by then, Wilensky's earlier advice to chastened district representatives may have gained in appeal: "I think it would behoove you well to engage us in the kind of creative thinking we're known for here in the foothills," Wilensky said. "We keep our sense of humor through Mark Twain's teachings, but we are committed to this river in ways you can't even imagine. And if you were to use that energy in a true partnership, you would find solutions that have so far eluded you to date."

Copies of the PEIR can be found at www.ebmud.com. The public can send or e-mail comments to Thomas B. Francis, PE, EBMUD Water Supply Improvements Division, 375 11th St. MS 407, Oakland, CA 94607 or tfrancis@ebmud.com.