Guest Opinion on Searsville Decision

Guest Opinion on Searsville Decision

5Our very own legislative advocate Lennie Roberts, along with Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society’s environmental advocate Shani Kleinhaus, recently wrote a guest opinion article for the Palo Alto Weekly. Their article, Keeping Searsville Dam in place is a good solution: Cautious path forward provides opportunity to assess impact, risks (5/29/15), looks at the recently decision by Stanford University on the Searsville Dam.

Earlier this month, Stanford released its plans for Searsville Dam, in an article titled 1000 dams down and counting. Both Lennie and Shani have been part of the 25-member Searsville Alternatives Study Advisory Group, which advised Stanford on the issue and has been meeting since 2013. The group was made up of a variety of different stakeholders and has been getting an in-depth look at the different alternatives for how to deal with the Dam, its possible removal, and all of the complex issues associated with the various paths forward.

As representatives of environmental organizations working in the communities of the San Francisquito watershed, as members of the advisory group Lennie and Shani focused not only on fish passage but also on the larger suite of habitats and resources and the potential results of any action on the myriad species (and people) that share the watershed.

After years of study and analysis, the recommended course of action: create an opening at the bottom of the dam to drain the reservoir and flush out the fine sediment, with the intent that this will allow fish passage and provide attenuation of peak flood flows. Some habitats will be restored under this plan, while others will be reduced, relocated or lost. A major advantage of this option is that it is reversible; the opening in the dam can be closed.

The Searsville alternatives process now begins an intensive new phase of public and environmental-agency review. This process will be rigorous, particularly since many questions remain and details need to be fleshed out. There will be many opportunities for public engagement, and shovels in the ground will be several years away.

Committee for Green Foothills is thankful to Stanford for inviting both Lennie and Shani to participate in the advisory group. We are glad the collective wisdom of this process has chosen a cautious path forward.

For Lennie and Shani’s full article online, see: www.paloaltoonline.com/print/story/2015/05/29/guest-opinion-keeping-searsville-dam-in-place-is-a-good-solution

The article was also posted in the Almanac: www.almanacnews.com/square/2015/05/20/guest-opinion-keeping-searsville-dam-in-place-a-good-solution

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