EXHIBIT 2-A

 
March __, 2008

 

Doug Bosco, Chairman

Board of Directors                                                                                                                               

California Coastal Conservancy

1330 Broadway, Suite 1300

Oakland, CA  94612

 

SUBJECT:     Support for the Carmel River Reroute and Dam Removal Project

 

Dear Chairman Bosco:

 

The Monterey Peninsula Water Management District (MPWMD) Board of Directors would like to express support for the California Coastal Conservancy’s (CCC) proposal to reroute the main stem of the Carmel River and remove the outdated and unsafe San Clemente Dam.  MPWMD’s mission is to manage, augment, and protect water resources for the benefit of the community and the environment.  MPWMD recognizes that the CCC alternative presents a unique opportunity to remove the threat to public safety that this dam poses while also improving conditions in the river for aquatic species that MPWMD has active management programs for.  In particular, this project would complement efforts by MPWMD to improve steelhead habitat along the river and to rear steelhead at our nearby Sleepy Hollow Steelhead Rearing Facility (SHSRF).  The project would also reconnect a significant portion of the upper watershed with the lower reaches of the Carmel River where MPWMD has implemented intensive streambank and floodplain restoration programs.

 

We encourage the CCC to continue to pursue this project, and we look forward to working with your organization during the final project design to incorporate MPWMD’s interests in maintaining and operating the SHSRF facilities.  Should you wish to discuss the project with MPWMD staff, please contact Larry Hampson at (831) 659-2543 or Kevan Urquhart at (831) 658-5643.

 

Sincerely,

 

 

 

Judi Lehman

Chair of the Board

 

cc:        Paula Landis, Chief, San Joaquin District, Department of Water Resources

Craig Anthony, General Manager/Central Division, California American Water

            Trish Chapman, Project Manager, State Coastal Conservancy

MPWMD Board of Directors

Larry Hampson, Kevan Urquhart, MPMWD

 

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