There could
be problems on the south side of Camanche
Lake for residents of more than 200
mobile homes on the CalaverasCounty side of the lake. East Bay Municipal Services
District, which owns and operates the lake, and the land on which the mobile
homes are located may be writing the
homes and their utilities out of the company’s upcoming long-term plan.
East Bay MUD has been working on the plan, called the Mokelumne Watershed
Master Plan since February 2006. The plan is reevaluating land management policies and
reevaluating land uses for all properties owned by the utility as consultants
for the district compare the costs and environmental impacts of different
alternatives, according to a letter from the district to tenants and
lessees. One
alternative mentioned in the letter is the elimination of the mobile home parks
as a "general increase in protective measures related to water
quality."
A second option would leave the homes as they are, with yet another
alternative, the third alternative, allowing for the review of each mobile home
on an individual. This option would allow for the possibility of
eliminating the mobile home parks for the addition of other types of
recreation, such as RV and tent camping. "We never intended to provide permanent housing on our land. The
board has stated that many times," Charles Hardy, an East Bay MUD
spokesman told the Sonora
based Union Democrat. By federal
dictate, in order to hold onto its water rights, East Bay MUD must use the
reservoir for flood control, irrigation and recreation.
Built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in
1963, East Bay MUD
operates the reservoir and supplies drinking water to 1.2 million residents in Alameda and Contra Costa counties with the water held here
in Amador and Calaveras
Counties. According
to Hardy, the East Bay MUD board of directors will make the final decision, but he states the board will
not make any decisions “…without thoroughly considering the mobile home
residents' plight.” Public input and comments will be encouraged and
considered during the process, beginning with next Thursday's meeting at La
Contenta. "I can tell you for sure, these people will be
taken into account,” Hardy said. "These are human beings and you can't just arbitrarily
say their lives are insignificant. That's not going to happen." The
residents will not have to wait long for the decision- it is scheduled to be
made a scheduled August 14th meeting of the East Bay MUD Board of
directors.(
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