SAVE THE DRAGON

GoFundMe Campaign

LITIGATION UPDATE AUGUST 20th 2018

On August 15, 2018, the Nacimiento Regional Water Management Advisory Committee (“NRWMAC”) filed a legal action detailed below in the Monterey County Superior Court to protect Lake Nacimiento enthusiasts, property owners and businesses. To date, with your contributions, the NRWMAC “Save the Dragon” GoFundMe Legal campaign has raised over $50,000.00 and we are grateful to all of those who have contributed so far. We need your help to continue the fight.

NRWMAC retained a law firm that specializes in water rights law, as well as an expert in surface water hydrology, to examine all of the legal options available to it in dealing with Monterey County’s management of the lake and the water releases. While researching and preparing a path forward, NRWMAC’s lawyers discovered a lawsuit already in progress in Monterey County.(1) This action was filed in January of 2017, and involves, among others parties, the Salinas Valley Water Coalition (“The Coalition”), the Monterey County Water Resources Agency (“MCWRA”) and the Monterey County Board of Supervisors. In the lawsuit, the Coalition is demanding that even more water be released from the lake on a permanent and continuing basis.(2) Although they should have been, interested parties, (property owners, NRWMAC, etc.) were never informed of this lawsuit by either the parties or the court.

The original parties in this lawsuit do not represent either the property interests around the lake, or the recreation or business interests. If the Coalition prevails, the result will be that an even greater amount of water will be released from Lake Nacimiento, a legal precedent on those releases will be established, and water levels will be much lower.

On August 15, 2018, NRWMAC’s attorneys filed a “Motion in Intervention” in Monterey County. This is a legal mechanism whereby NRWMAC seeks to join the existing lawsuit. NRWMAC is not taking the side of any of the parties in the lawsuit. Rather, by intervening, NRWMAC is ensuring that its interest, and that of its constituents, be accounted for concerning the recreational aspect of the lake, and that any decision rendered by the court in respect of water releases, now or in the future, takes into account these interests. A hearing on the intervention motion is scheduled for September 19, 2018. To read the Motion in Intervention, follow this link: www.nrwmac.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Motion-Intervene-180815.pdf

NRWMAC’s intervention in this lawsuit is the first step in gaining a voice before the court, before the California State Water Resources Control Board, and with Monterey County, in compelling the recognition of the rights of Lake Nacimiento residents, property owners, visitors and enthusiasts. It also establishes NRWMAC’s standing in any future legal action, and is critical in the efforts to protect the Lake levels, property values, preserve individual property owners riparian water rights and recreational uses.

A huge thank you goes out to everyone who has already contributed to NRWMAC’s GoFundMe campaign. The cost to fund this legal battle is significant and everyone’s participation is key to making it successful. If you have not yet contributed to the fund, please give what you can. Give again, if you are able. And pass the word about this issue, the fund and what NRWMAC is doing. Let others know about the problem and the need to raise additional funds to Save the Dragon and to keep recreation flourishing!

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(1) The parties are currently before the California State Water Resources Control Board, which will conduct evidentiary hearings in the matter.

(2) The Coalition also alleges that Monterey County failed to provide water in previous years, under a Proposition 218 tax assessment, and seeks to have property taxes lowered as a result. This aspect of the current lawsuit does not involve either NRWMAC or it constituents.

(3) Links to more documents and the NRWMAC Legal Actions can be found here :   NRWMAC Knowledge Base

Lake Nacimiento, known as “The Dragon” because of its distinctive shape, is in extreme peril and needs your help. Millions of gallons of water are being taken out of the lake each day by Monterey County and sent north, primarily for the benefit of its farmers in the Salinas Valley, but also to support a fish habitat and to sell on the open market for profit. This isn’t simply “Water Over The Dam,” it is the moral equivalent of draining the life’s blood of The Dragon. Left unchecked, this massive release of water will devastate the local economy in San Luis Obispo County, where the lake is actually located, by curtailing recreation, depressing property values and reducing business and tax revenues. Although the farmers in the Salinas Valley are entitled to a fair share of the water, they are not entitled to ALL of it. There is no way of even knowing just how much water the farmers are getting, since much of it goes underground where it cannot be measured. It is also impossible to determine how much water, if any, is being wasted since that also defies measurement. What is clear is that ever since the time it completed a “divisionary facility” in Salinas, Monterey County has steadily increased the water it releases over the dam on a daily basis.

See: http://www.co.monterey.ca.us/home/showdocument?id=22189.

Nacimiento Reservoir was originally designed and built by Monterey County for irrigation, flood control, groundwater recharge, and recreation. It was completed in 1957. Although the lake formed by the reservoir is entirely inside the geographical boundaries of San Luis Obispo County, the water is controlled by Monterey County under an operating license issued by the State of California. Over time, Monterey County has demonstrated that it does not care about the recreational aspect of its management of the lake, despite that component being of equal value to the others. Monterey County’s current attitude towards recreation at Lake Nacimiento borders on contempt.

The Nacimiento Regional Water Management Advisory Committee (“NRWMAC”) was formed in the late1980’s to represent Lake Nacimiento property owners, visitors and enthusiasts in dealing with Monterey County’s management of this precious resource. During its tenure, NRWMAC has fought to maintain a consistent and appropriate water level of 748 feet above mean sea level (msl). At this level, during most years, there is enough water to satisfy the needs of the farmers, meet the California Department of Fish and Wildlife requirements for the fish habitat and concurrently sustain recreation throughout the peak summer months – at least through Labor Day of each year. For the most part, NRWMAC has been successful in its attempt to maintain a mutually acceptable lake level. Lately, however, Monterey County has been promulgating the notion that a lake level of 730 feet msl will sustain recreation. This is absolutely not true. At that level, launch ramps and docks along the lake become unusable, and previously submerged rocks, tree stumps and islands start surfacing, posing hazards to boating.

NRWMAC has tried to negotiate a reasonable compromise with Monterey County over the lake level. Monterey County, however, will not negotiate. NRWMAC drafted and circulated a petition demanding a reduction to the massive and unreasonable daily water releases. This petition garnered over 6,000 signatures, and was presented to Monterey County in May of this year. Monterey County dismissed the petition, labeling it “factually inaccurate,” although it failed to explain how it was inaccurate. NRWMAC Directors have been on radio and television, and in print media, appealing for restraint over the water releases, but these effort have had no effect: Monterey County continues to drain the lake at its sole and unbridled discretion. Finally, as a last resort, and responding to the entreaties of its constituents, NRWMAC has been forced to retain a law firm experienced in water rights, and a team of hydrologists, to seek a legal remedy to halt the excessive outflow of water.

NRWMAC has exhausted nearly its entire operating budget by subsidizing the legal fees to date and now it needs your help. NRWMAC has started a GoFundMe campaign to replenish the funds necessary to sustain its legal challenge. It is estimated that a minimum of $100,000.00 is required to continue forward and resolve this issue. Please contribute whatever you can to help NRWMAC Save the Dragon, and please share this GoFundMe link and web site to everyone on your mailing list.

https://www.gofundme.com/lake-nacimiento-save-the-dragon

Discreet donation is available by checking the “Hide name and comment..” check box on the GoFundMe form, or use the donate buttons on the NRWMAC.Donate page located here www.nrwmac.org/donate .

NRWMAC is a non-profit organization. Because of the way it is structured, donations made to it, or to the legal fund it is sponsoring, are not tax deductible to the donor. For more information on NRWMAC, how it supports Lake Nacimiento, and to join its growing list of supporters.

What is NRWMAC?

The Nacimiento Regional Water Management Advisory Committee (NRWMAC) represents property owners, visitors and enthusiasts of all sorts that enjoy Lake Nacimiento. Our goal is to maximize the water level in Lake Nacimiento throughout the summer. Res Ops Meetings and NRWMAC’s Board meetings are the last Thursday of the month.

NRWMACs primary goals for lake Nacimiento water management

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