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Report on Dam Repairs Not Needed, Official Says

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The state’s chief expert on dam safety says an environmental impact report is unnecessary for repair work at the leaking Garvey Reservoir in Monterey Park.

Monterey Park officials had requested that the state conduct extensive geological and environmental studies on the impact of repairs on two large cracks in the reservoir. The damage, discovered in the last month, had contributed to flooding around nearby homes and prompted the closure and draining of the reservoir.

Some local residents have become so upset that they are demanding permanent closure of the 150-acre facility, which serves as a critical link in the supply system of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California.

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But Vernon H. Persson, chief of the Division of Dam Safety in the state Department of Water Resources, informed the city in a Dec. 12 letter that “the investigation and anticipated repairs (are) categorically exempt” from environmental impact requirements.

Meanwhile, a spokesman for the water district said Friday that the reservoir is unlikely to be reopened by the dry season next summer. “That means we could have some water delivery problems. But we’re not going to rush the reservoir back into service at the risk it will seep again,” Jay Malinowski said.

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