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Proposed Gregory Canyon landfill a threat to clean water, says commentary

Posted by: Maven on April 29, 2009 at 6:29 am

From the North County Times, this commentary by San Diego County supervisor Pam Slater-Price:

Anyone in San Diego County who depends upon imported water —- and that’s most of us —- should see the proposed Gregory Canyon landfill for what it is: a threat to water quality and supplies.

Now the Regional Water Quality Control Board will gather comments related to its 56-page tentative order for Gregory Canyon. The agency is hosting a public hearing from 2:30 to 5 p.m. today at Escondido City Hall as it decides whether to issue a permit for the landfill. That decision is expected this summer.

Water reliability for the entire region is at stake.

North of Escondido and east of Interstate 15, the landfill site straddles an aquifer and hugs the banks of San Luis Rey River. Oceanside residents depend on these rare and prized local sources of water. So do households and orchards in the Pauma Valley, which tap the aquifer with 17 domestic wells and 31 irrigation wells. All of them are within one mile of the landfill site.

It’s no secret that we’re in a drought. Earlier this month, water wholesalers voted to reduce water deliveries to San Diego County by 13 percent. That means the more that local supplies meet our needs, the more imported water is left for all of us.

Gregory Canyon also threatens our lifeline to that faraway water. Flanking the dump site is the San Diego County Water Authority’s aqueduct.

Read more of this commentary in the North County Times by clicking here.

April 29, 2009 · Filed Under Groundwater

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