NEWPORT BEACH : Debate Continues Over Reservoir

A three-year debate over whether to cover the algae- and bacteria-plagued San Joaquin Reservoir continued at a heated public hearing Thursday night conducted by the Metropolitan Water District.

The nearly three-hour meeting at Harbor View Elementary School drew about 150 residents and water officials from the five cities served by the reservoir--Newport Beach, Costa Mesa, Huntington Beach, Irvine and Costa Mesa--and showed the rift between Newport Beach residents whose homes overlook the reservoir and other residents who count on the facility to store emergency water supplies.

Homeowners in the Harbor Ridge community above the open-air reservoir insist that a cover, be it a floating, inflatable or rigid one, would ruin their blue-water views and seriously hurt their property values. But water officials and residents of other areas served by the 55-acre reservoir support the cover as the most inexpensive and effective way to improve water quality, which has been so poor that the reservoir has been shut down 19 times since 1985.

Since its opening in 1966, the reservoir has been plagued by algae, bacteria caused by bird droppings, insects and other debris and a 1984 infestation of African clawed frogs. An estimated 850,000 frogs infested the reservoir, forcing water officials to drain the facility and install traps.

High doses of chlorine have been added to disinfect the water, but the treatment in turn has triggered increases of carcinogenic chemicals formed when chlorine reacts with organic matter.

The reservoir was most recently closed July 17 and remains out of operation because chemical amounts have not dropped to acceptable levels.

Water officials contend that the reservoir is a necessary facility because it provides both regulatory and emergency water storage for 400,000 residents.

The Metropolitan Water District has studied more than 30 options to improve the reservoir’s water quality, including examining pipelines and other reservoir sites, and came up with four options for San Joaquin--a rigid, floating or inflatable cover, or a nearby treatment plant.

An environmental impact report also studied the effects of a “no-action alternative” if the district were to simply continue current operations.

As a possible compromise, several Harbor Ridge homeowners have suggested that the reservoir be divided into sections with only part of it covered.

Most of the residents and water officials at Thursday’s hearing seemed to support a floating cover, estimated to cost $17 million to build and $2.4 million annually to maintain. But homeowners near the reservoir contended that the cost estimates were flawed because the reservoir’s size and irregular shape will cause difficulties, and that water officials need to take more time to discuss options with the homeowners.

The district has agreed to extend the public comment period until Nov. 13, but neighboring homeowners, backed by Assemblyman Gil Ferguson (R-Newport Beach), contend that a second public hearing will be needed at the end of the three months.