Read this in the Press the other day. Nice to see someone trying to right what is in my opinion a wrong.
Voters were promised a multi use lake, got a very limited use reservoir.
Good for Bill Morrow!
Thanks
CA Stu
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Don't take a dip in water yet
DIAMOND VALLEY LAKE: A bill to allow swimming may resurface. The MWD opposes such use.
12:13 AM PDT on Tuesday, April 20, 2004
By JIM MILLER / Sacramento Bureau
SACRAMENTO - State Sen. Bill Morrow recalls visiting the site of what was planned to be one of the largest reservoirs in the country about 12 years ago.
"I remember saying way back then ... 'Look at all the recreational opportunities,' " Morrow, R-Oceanside, said Monday. " 'Not so fast,' I was told.'"
At Diamond Valley Lake, Southern California's largest reservoir, people can fish or stroll along its shores. But anyone who takes a dip in the lake risks a $100 fine. The Metropolitan Water District, which built and operates the reservoir, contends that swimming and wading jeopardize the emergency water supply for 18 million people.
Morrow, though, says he believes the fears are overblown. Seven months after the reservoir opened to the public, he is pushing a bill to add Diamond Valley Lake to four other reservoirs - in Stanislaus, El Dorado, San Luis Obispo and San Diego counties - exempted from a state law that prohibits bodily contact with public drinking-water supplies.
"There are a lot of people from my district who would be utilizing it. Nobody's been able to convince me why it's so bad to allow bodily contact or swimming in a huge reservoir when all the treatment facilities are downstream," Morrow said.
Morrow's measure, SB 1251, was scheduled to face its first committee hearing Monday. The senator pulled it off the agenda, however, and its future is uncertain. Friday is the deadline for Senate policy committees to hear Senate legislation. The bill could still resurface later through rule waivers or other legislative maneuvers.
"I'm still very determined on it," Morrow said.
Yet the measure faces strong opposition. Besides MWD, several water districts - including Western Municipal Water District in Riverside County - have come out against the measure.
Easing Diamond Valley's ban on bodily contact, MWD officials said, would undermine the reservoir's purpose as an emergency backup in case of a disruption of water supplies from the Colorado River or Sacramento-San Joaquin Bay Delta.
"Our board believes very strongly that if this is a facility to help us meet emergencies that we have to take special care to protect the quality of the water," said MWD spokesman Adan Ortega.
To meet recreational needs, including swimming, the district is planning to build a small lake and other facilities to the east of Diamond Valley Lake, Ortega said. Moreover, he said, Diamond Valley Lake is better left to anglers because of the reservoir's depth.
The district has invited Morrow to return to Diamond Valley Lake for another visit.
"If I'm convinced that there really is a legitimate public safety issue, then I'll be first to back off," Morrow said.