Rising Behind Prado Dam: Idiocy

* Re “Taking the High Ground,” May 15:

I see the Prado Dam pork barrel project is alive again and going full speed ahead, ready to squander our tax dollars on a needless raising of the dam’s height.

Leading the charge is our memory-impaired county Supervisor Jim Silva, along with various government representatives.

In the early ‘70s, Southern California was in the middle of a multiyear drought. That was at a time when you couldn’t get a glass of water at a restaurant, and some cities even passed laws prohibiting people from washing their cars and hosing down sidewalks.

The city of Santa Barbara even outlawed watering of lawns. Then in the winter, the rains came. It rained for days on end. Communities near the Santa Ana River were being flooded. The river couldn’t handle all the water.

In order to stop the flooding, the gates at Prado Dam were closed. This was to prevent flooding, as well as to replenish the underground aquifers that had gone dry. Prado Dam was doing what it was supposed to do: control flooding and save water for later use.

This story would have a happy ending except for one thing. Since the dam, for years, had not been used to retain water, the area behind (or upstream from) the dam had become overrun with vegetation.

What once were bushes and flowers had now become big bushes and trees. And in these trees lived birds. And one of the species of birds was the least Bell’s vireo, a small songbird that happens to be on the endangered species list.

The Prado Dam brain trust determined that if the dam were to be allowed to fill, it would destroy the little birds’ nesting environment. Therefore the decision was made to open the dam’s flood gates, thus allowing the precious, much-needed water to run to the ocean.

As long as the least Bell’s vireo remains on the endangered species list, and continues to live in the trees behind Prado Dam, the dam will never be used for its intended purpose.

Therefore, to spend millions of tax dollars to raise the height of the dam is pure and simple pork barrel waste.

ROBERT L. MACFARLANE

Newport Beach