As the supervisor representing South County, I am deeply concerned about the recent lawsuit and court decision against San Luis Obispo County regarding the county’s operation of Lopez Dam. This lawsuit is a judicial end run around the county’s years-long administrative process with the state and federal agencies that are responsible for regulating endangered species and protected resources.
While protecting steelhead trout is an admirable goal, this lawsuit and the plaintiffs behind it take an unnecessarily myopic view and refuse to properly consider the consequences of their lawsuit on other species and resources as well as our region’s already fragile water supply. To be clear, this lawsuit jeopardizes the water security of Arroyo Grande, Grover Beach, Oceano, Pismo Beach, and Avila Beach—communities that rely on Lopez Lake Reservoir for survival.
The lawsuit, brought by the Ecological Rights Foundation and in coordination with local agencies San Luis Obispo Coastkeeper, Los Padres ForestWatch, and the California Coastkeeper Alliance, disregards the county’s significant efforts to protect endangered species, including steelhead trout. For years, the county has worked on a comprehensive Habitat Conservation Plan and carefully managed water releases to balance water supply and species protection. Additionally, projects like frog ponds and fish passage improvements, among other things, demonstrate the county’s proactive commitment to environmental stewardship.
Two years ago, Lopez Reservoir was at just 22 percent capacity due to prolonged drought. While Lopez is nearly full today, severe droughts are inevitable. This is why we must be careful, thoughtful, and precise with how we manage this resource, based on facts and fully vetted science. The recent decision makes short shrift of the years of work, elaborate study, and comprehensive analysis that the county has performed in order to “get it right” and to achieve both environmental successes for steelhead and other species while managing this important resource for the community.
This lawsuit is an example of environmentalism going too far—where the drive to protect one species overrides the basic needs of an entire community. The lawsuit and recent ruling impose restrictions that destabilize the region’s water supply without guaranteeing better outcomes for species.
I support many local environmental causes. However, the nature of this litigation, the attorneys’ “scorched earth” tactics, and the willingness of some organizations to jeopardize our water system must be rebuked and condemned. Please reach out to these organizations to implore that they change their tactics and collaborate on sustainable solutions.
As your supervisor, I remain committed to conserving our environment while advancing projects like regional water recycling, desalination, infrastructure investments, and conservation strategies that protect and enhance our water supply.
In the spirit of collaboration, I urge all parties to come together to develop a balanced solution that ensures the long-term water security of our South County communities. Δ
Jimmy Paulding is SLO County’s 4th District supervisor. Send a response for publication by emailing it to letters@newtimesslo.com.
This article appears in Dec 12-22, 2024.
Mr. Paulding,
Let me start by saying thank you for your efforts to date as a South County Supervisor who cares about your constituents as well as the environment and attempting to find a balance that makes sense. What we know about steelhead is that they need the four Cs in order to survive: cold, clean, complex and connected, none of which currently applies to the two prominent South County’s former steelhead-flowing streams (AG Creek and San Luis Creek). The contributing factors include drought (as you noted) as well as a Global warming trend resulting in inhabitable water temps, as well as storm water runoff containing pesticides, herbicides, regulated metals and elevated total suspended solids. Releasing large volumes of water from Lopez Lake looks good on paper to achieve the goal, but it’s not enough to make AG Creek fully habitable for the steelhead. At this point nothing we do will restore this creek to the conditions we had 60 years ago when steelhead flourished. It’s the same for San Luis Creek which has been described (accurately) as an “open sewer”. I only hope the County uses a highly qualified fish biologist to complete a thorough investigation of all factors involved while developing their water release plan for Lopez dam prior to releasing any water. If they do, they may find that releasing water at higher volumes would be a complete waste of a very valuable resource.