More on Watershed Land Stewardship Concerns
SJWC representative JohnTang submitted a rebuttal letter in the 2/15/06 issue of the Los Gatos Weekly in response to Aldercroft Heights resident Mike Accorsi's expressed concerns about SJWC leaving multiple grading mounds to erode into Los Gatos Creek. The mounds were piled and left along a SJWC watershed road in Aldercroft Heights.
Tang states that SJWC feels they are good stewards of their watershed lands. Information obtained by NAIL questions Mr. Tang's statement.
The Aldercroft grading problem demonstrates a pattern of poor practices by the San Jose Water Company. What Mr. Tang did not mention in his letter is that in November, the construction site alongside Los Gatos Creek was inspected by the Santa Clara Valley Water District. At that time SJWC was criticized for poor construction practices. The inspector's report noted that there was no winterization plan in place. To quote from that inspection report. "Having this large unprotected earthen bank without having a winterization plan has the highest exposure for erosion."
Three months later, the construction site remains a problem. Inspections were performed by the County of Santa Clara in early February. This inspection revealed that the site still does not represent compliance with the County Grading Ordinance or the State NPDES Permit for Linear Construction Projects.
NAIL's concern is that if SJWC cannot properly manage a simple grading construction project on a roadway above a prime water source without corrective action being requested, how can we expect they would be good stewards during their proposed ongoing logging project that involves helicopters flying over our community, huge trucks navigating our roads, and alterations to the ecology and wildlife habitats in our mountains?