North Marin Water District should share plan

Climate change, with appreciably less rain, has created drought conditions with dwindling water supplies and the possibility of an early and more dangerous wildfire season. In addition, the Association of Bay Area Governments is furthering water demand with the mandate to increase the number of housing units in Novato, as well as other Marin communities.

Stafford Lake water storage, which is 20% of North Marin Water District’s supply, is very low and the forecasts do not indicate robust rain soon. Sonoma County’s Russian River watershed supplies 80% of NMWD’s water. It has had limited amounts of normal rainfall since last July.

So, what are some of the options available to increase water supplies?

Rick Johnson, in his recently published Marin Voice commentary (“Advanced metering, desalination would bolster water supply amid construction mandates,” Feb. 4), pointed out that NMWD should consider desalination. I concur. A desalination plant should be built, but it takes time to bring the plant on line. Another longrange plan that should be considered is building a reservoir. In addition, customers must conserve more water or water usage should be limited.

We should also consider dredging. It is a relatively simple and less expensive solution to capture more rainwater. Dredging can be implemented within months to add water storage capacity to Stafford Lake by adding depth. A selfcontained dredge, on a floating barge with its own pumps to suck the spoils from the lake bottom and pump the slurry onto the shore may be a solution. The dredged materials could then be dried and sold as top soil.

I am not the only water customer asking about NMWD’s plans to supplement our limited water supply. Shouldn’t the NMWD Board of Directors be communicating with its customers, outlining their immediate and future plans?

— Charles Wallace, Novato