Lake draining upsets local environmentalists

By: BARBARA HENRY - Staff Writer | Tuesday, September 14, 2004 11:23 PM PDT ∞

CARLSBAD ---- A local environmental organization wants Carlsbad officials to rethink plans to temporarily drain much of Lake Calavera for a repair project, saying the proposal will result in dead fish and habitat destruction.

"This to me is an example of piecemeal planning," said Diane Nygaard, a member of the 4-year-old, grassroots environmental group Preserve Calavera.

The group began distributing fliers Monday in the northeastern Carlsbad neighborhoods near the lake, trying to inspire people to send comments to the city before the public comment period ends later today.

"The people I talked to about this were quite horrified to find out this was happening," Nygaard said Tuesday.

A city official said the lake-draining proposal is only one of several options Carlsbad is considering for the repair project, which is still in the planning stages. Under that plan, the city would drain 80 percent of the lake in order to repair valves on the lake's earthen dam, said Mike Grim, the city senior planner who is collecting comments on the project.

A second proposal is to build a small "coffer" dam ---- a mini-dam ---- around the valves and pump out the water, Grim said. While that would reduce the amount of water removed from the lake, designing the mini-dam so it won't harm the main dam is challenging, he added.

The city engineer handling the work could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

The project will allow the city to regulate the water levels at the lake, something the state requires and that hasn't occurred since the valves broke years ago, Grim said.

The city circulated environmental documents regarding the project last spring, then revised them in response to comments from state and federal wildlife officials, he said. The officials raised concerns about the possible effects the project would have on the acidity of the lake's water, the lake's pond-turtle population, and the possibility of nonnative vegetation invading the area, Grim said.

"They were also concerned about dead fish that may attract scavenging animals ... so we have a dead-fish removal plan," he said.

Nygaard said she is concerned about everything from rotting dead fish and mosquito abatement to whether there will be enough water left in the lake for fire-fighting needs during the construction period.

"I don't think they really thought through the issues," she said.

Her group is asking people to mail comments to the Carlsbad Planning Department, 1635 Faraday Ave., Carlsbad, CA 92008, or to send e-mails to mgrim@ci.carlsbad.ca.us.

Contact staff writer Barbara Henry at (760) 901-4072 or bhenry@nctimes.com.

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