WHEN IT COMES TO WATER, ASK ABOUT THE PUBLIC TRUST DOCTRINE.

Royal Gorge, LLC (RG LLC), in a recent memo, seeks to establish that Maximum Day Demand, and Average Day Demand, as it pertains to water needs, are apples, and oranges, or perhaps avocados and guavas. We'll all happily agree but, for the record, any confusion engendered by different measures of water demand clearly lies at RG LLC's door. First, in spite of requirements for recent developments in Martis Valley to use specific figures for water estimation, depending on type of dwelling, and despite the February California Supreme Court Ruling calling for figures based on full build-out of developments, somewhat analogous to 100% occupancy, RG LLC had continued, up until the very last Sierra Lakes County Water District (SLCWD) meeting, to use a 46% occupancy rating for their water needs estimations.  Second, by the nature of the questionnaire RG LLC had to fill out for their pre-application process in Placer County,  different numbers were requested than those they have been putting out to the public, investors, and even, SLCWD.  Instead of attempting to clarify the inevitable misunderstanding when two different benchmarks have been used, and instead of contacting those who might have been misled by their use of different standards, they have for some reason sought to make hay out of what, for most people, is a rather dry and arcane subject.

You see, what  most people really care about, is, whether there be enough water for our use, and enough water to make sure our lakes are still vibrant, and our streams still run. As our lakes are beautiful to look at, fun to boat on, and swim in, and great for fishing (ask the glorious Serene Lakes' eagle we so enjoy watching) , we trust our water board to preserve this heritage of beauty. Trust is an important word. You see, in addition to rules and regulations written into law, there is the Public Trust Doctrine.  Public agencies, like our water board, have to work overtime to ensure they preserve recreational treasures, and protect the environment.

In the case of Serene Lakes, this extends not only to our lakes, but to Serena Creek, a Class One perennial trout stream, that flows to the State and Federally protected North Fork of the American River. This Public Trust Doctrine is deeply imbedded in California law, as, in 1983, the California Supreme Court merged the public trust doctrine with the California Water Rights System, requiring that all uses must conform to the standard of reasonable use, and holding that the State Water Rights Control Board has a continuing duty to supervise the taking and use of appropriated water.  California takes protection of the environment, and recreational uses, even bird-watching, very seriously when it comes to allotting water rights. 

In their recent memo, RG LLC points to an actual demand (at 100% use) of 510 AFY, a figure that, by current bathymetric figures, would drain about 5/6ths of Serene Lakes.  Their solution?  Take all that water that flows over the dam into Serena Creek. But we, at Serene Lakes, are duty bound, both morally and legally, to protect Serena Creek, a year round stream that nourishes trout, and supplies water to the headwaters of the North Fork of the American River.  It may flow underground in places in the dry times of the year, but it is quietly ensuring the continued survival of the resident trout, and the insects who feed them. We hope RG LLC understands  both the burden and blessing of stewardship.

Something else, I'm afraid, is going on here. RG LLC claims SLPOA won't publish a rebuttal to RG LLC's contribution to  the July newsletter, which they claim accused them of heinous acts.  Please, do us all a favor. Reread the newsletter if you have questions, or, if you no longer have your newsletter, please visit the documents page of www.saveserenelakes.org   You can read RG LLC's letter, and our response.  If you have questions about anything in our response, we can direct you to documentary support. If there's honest confusion about terms, which, in real life we know is often the case, then it will be good to have a nice roundtable discussion and clear the air.

You see, we at SLPOA of course wish to communicate with RG LLC, because we have so many shared interests up here, and because there is so much beauty to protect. The most important thing to establish is trust, a fragile thing, as fragile as our seemingly harsh environment.  It is our hope that we  all can establish common ground over protecting the Public Trust,  California's heritage.