Published
in Rio Linda Elverta News May 13, 2004 - Scroll for other articles
Hayer Dam diversion project delayed
Fish
passage work on schedule
by Jay O'Brien
The Sacramento Area Flood Control Agency (SAFCA) at a public meeting
Monday May 10th confirmed that the water diversion part of the Hayer
Dam project would be put off until 2005. The Bell Acqua lakes owners
hold water rights to receive water from Dry Creek and have received
water from the Hayer Dam in the past. However, they will continue to
pump groundwater to fill the lakes until the SAFCA water diversion
project is completed.
SAFCA's Tim Washburn explained to the Citizen Advisory Committee (CAC)
meeting, "It's harder than I expected to get all the agreements in
place. That is the absolute truth. And I'll take responsibility for
underestimating that difficulty. I'm a lawyer, that should be something
I could do."
Removal of the existing bridge and planned improvements to fish passage
are still on schedule to complete in September 2004. SAFCA plans to
install a new bridge, funded by Sacramento County Parks, in 2005.
At a CAC meeting in December 2003, Washburn said the original cost
estimate for the project was $425,000; that had increased at that time
to between $700,000 and $800,000. Washburn assured the CAC on December
3, 2003, that SAFCA "has the money". Washburn continues to state that
SAFCA has the money, but says the project cost has now soared to $1.25
Million.
Watch for an article in an upcoming issue of The NEWS by SAFCA's Mick
Klasson providing more details on the changes to the project and the
new construction schedule.
Erwin Hayer's article, "The Hayer Dam and SAFCA", also in this issue of
The NEWS, outlines the frustration Erwin and others have suffered over
years of dealing with SAFCA.
Published
in Rio Linda Elverta News May 13, 2004 - Scroll for other articles
Frank Porter
named "Superintendent of The Year"
Rio Linda Union School District Superintendent Frank Porter,
center, celebrates being named Superintendent of the Year by the
Association of California School Administrators Region III at a banquet
at Lions Gate Hotel at McClellan Park. Joining the superintendent are,
left to right, board President K. Wess Larson, Vice President Janis
Green, Trustee Elizabeth Mitchell and Trustee Bob Bastian.
Published
in Rio Linda Elverta News May 13, 2004 - Scroll for other articles
The Hayer Dam
and SAFCA
by Erwin Hayer
- May 10, 2004
The Hayer Dam Restoration project keeps changing and the costs keep
going up. I now believe this was the plan by the government
agencies all along to remove the dam, remove the historical pond, and
eliminate the diversion for the Bell Acqua lakes. Later, they would
build another bridge for an extension of the bike trail.
The Sacramento Area Flood Control Agency (SAFCA) Board was told by
SAFCA staff in January 2003 that the Hayer Dam "consists of an
abandoned bike bridge crossing, a poorly engineered foundation, and a
structure that is designed to store water by means of flash boards."
SAFCA apparently then obtained a grant from the State for "$200,000 in
State funds to defray a portion of the cost of removing the flashboard
structure and reconstructing the bike bridge."
The "abandoned bike bridge crossing" was never intended for a bike
bridge crossing. It was constructed for maintenance and operation
of the dam. The "poorly engineered foundation" has lasted more than 74
years.
The Historical Pond that has been a part of Rio Linda for 74 years is
now dead and buried, thanks to SAFCA and County Parks. This is a great
loss to the community.
The dam was always lowered to allow the adult salmon to move upstream
in the fall and to allow the young salmon to move down stream in the
early spring. This had been done by the Hayer family for 60 years with
no compensation from any government agency.
A State grant of $2,416,355 SAFCA obtained included funds for
"...renovation of the existing Hayer Dam..." The word is
"renovation", not "removal".
An article by SAFCA in the Rio Linda News November 6, 2003, said "The
project is funded by a grant from the California Department of Water
Resources and by SAFCA and County Parks."
SAFCA's Tim Washburn was quoted in the Rio Linda News December 11,
2003, telling the community meeting December 3, 2003, that the original
cost estimate for the project was $425,000; and that had increased
since the last community meeting to between $700,000 and $800,000.
Washburn assured the audience that SAFCA "has the money", and that the
in-stream work would take place between July 1 and September 30.
An article by SAFCA in the Rio Linda News January 29, 2004 said of the
project, "It will include removing the Hayer Dam in 2004 and installing
a buried replacement water diversion facility at the same location that
will provide easier passage for migrating salmon and steelhead. A
replacement bridge open to public pedestrian, bicycle, and equestrian
use is planned for 2005." I now understand that the replacement bridge
will be funded by County Parks, not SAFCA.
SAFCA's article in the April 15, 2004 Rio Linda News tells a different
story, "SAFCA indicated that project phasing may change to allow more
time to arrange funding, in which case modifications specific to bridge
installation may be delayed until 2005 when County Parks plans to
install the bridge deck. Likewise, the installation of the water
diversion components may be delayed until 2005 to allow time for SAFCA
and Bell Acqua Homeowners Association to adopt a use agreement."
What happened to the money Washburn said SAFCA had? Where did the State
grants go?
This means at least another year of the Bell Acqua Lakes pumping water
from the underground aquifer to fill the lakes. They pump from the same
aquifer the High School, Junior High School, and the Rio Linda/Elverta
Community Water District pump drinking water. Bell Acqua pays over
$8000 per year in pumping costs alone for water to refill the lakes
from that aquifer. Bell Acqua has water rights to obtain surface water
from Dry Creek; that is where the water for the lakes should come from,
not the aquifer.
SAFCA has established a low flow channel in Robla Creek that is fed
from Dry Creek along with Bell Acqua Lakes. If that water source is
eliminated, the majority of the vegetation restoration project in the
Robla Creek/Rio Linda Creek downstream of Dry Creek Road will probably
dry up and die this summer.
SAFCA has historically told us what they would do "for" us, and has
historically turned around and done it "to" us. A classic bait and
switch. SAFCA’s Hayer Dam project is no different.
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