Diablo Water District is considering purchasing Jersey Island from Ironhouse Sanitary District and potentially embarking on a massive restoration project.
Great. But before everybody starts high-fiving over habitat restoration, carbon reduction, wildlife-friendly agriculture and saving the Delta, can somebody answer three ridiculously simple questions?
- Will this increase or decrease rates?
- Why does Diablo Water District need to own Jersey Island?
- What tangible benefit do Diablo Water District ratepayers receive?
That’s it.
This isn’t the SAT. We don’t need 4,500 pages of reports, an environmental science symposium or 40 PowerPoint slides about soil composition to answer them.
Because we’re not talking about buying a used pickup truck.
We’re talking about $13.5 million to purchase Jersey Island, potentially another $25 million for restoration, plus remediation, mitigation, monitoring and whatever other costs eventually crawl out from underneath the Delta mud.
And that’s where this starts getting interesting.
Ironhouse purchased Jersey Island in 1993 for approximately $3 million because it needed land to discharge treated wastewater effluent.
Then technology improved where Ironhouse invested in its Water Recycling Facility and eventually could discharge highly treated effluent into the river under regulatory requirements instead of relying on Jersey Island. That’s called progress.
Meanwhile, Jersey Island didn’t simply sit there collecting weeds. The property generated roughly $1 million annually, give or take, through cattle and hay operations for years and is now leased for agricultural use. So ratepayers bought an asset, the original purpose eventually became obsolete, and Ironhouse found another way to make the property productive.
Somehow we’ve now arrived at the conclusion that another public agency should buy it.
Why?
That’s the $13.5 million question.
Welcome to Science Island
Last week, Diablo Water District held a work session lasting a little over an hour that included Delta water flows, levees, soil, carbon emissions, wood ash disposal sites, natural gas wells, biosolids, cattle corrals and maintenance. Basically every subject from high school science class that made 99% of us stare at the clock waiting for lunch.
There are legitimate environmental issues.
Approximately 225,000 cubic yards of wood ash exist in three areas of Jersey Island per the presentation (deposited in the 1980’s). Environmental testing identified elevated lead in the ash and additional investigation has been recommended involving biosolids, groundwater and other areas.
Those aren’t issues to ignore.
But let’s stop pretending they were discovered last Tuesday.
The ash predates Ironhouse’s ownership of Jersey Island. Ironhouse has owned and maintained the property for more than three decades while Ironhouse and Reclamation District 830 have helped maintain the levee system surrounding it. Those levees don’t just protect Jersey Island. Jersey Island wraps around Bethel Island, meaning that levee system plays a role in protecting homes, businesses, farms, roads and waterways.
So yes, environmental science matters.
But science doesn’t come with a blank check.
Is This a Water District or Parks District?
Then came Diablo Water District’s restoration vision.
- Approximately 2,200 acres of native habitat.
- Another 1,000 acres of wildlife-friendly agriculture.
- Including trails, campgrounds and recreation.
- Water-quality improvements.
- Levee improvements.
All wonderful things.
But I have apparently missed the meeting where Diablo Water District became the poor man’s East Bay Regional Park District. All while trying to get $20 million in Prop 4 funding funneled through the Delta Conservancy.
I thought these guys were in the water business.
Provide reliable water. Protect water quality. Maintain infrastructure. Secure future supply. Keep rates reasonable.
That’s the job.
Now we’re talking campgrounds, trails, habitat restoration and recreational amenities? What’s next? Pickleball courts? A Jersey Island gift shop? Glamping packages? Stay in your lane.
Especially when Oakley itself is still decades away from fully realizing its own planned 55-acre community park — which by the way, 55 acres at $128 million. Does Diablo Water really have any idea what it costs to manage a project with 3,570 acres?
Who Pays?
This is where every ratepayer should start paying attention.
Diablo Water District has discussed pursuing grants and philanthropic funding.
Fantastic. Go get every grant imaginable.
But grants aren’t magic money. And purchasing Jersey Island isn’t necessarily the end of the financial obligation.
It could be the beginning:
- Who pays for additional groundwater testing?
- Who pays for long-term environmental monitoring?
- Who assumes responsibility for the ash?
- Who pays for future levee repairs?
- Who pays if additional contamination is discovered?
- Who pays for ongoing maintenance?
- What happens when grants don’t cover everything?
Eventually somebody pays. Either Ironhouse ratepayers or Diablo Water District ratepayers.
Or, perhaps its state taxpayers or federal taxpayers? Who knows.
The money doesn’t fall from the sky.
Show Us the Public Benefit
Maybe Diablo Water District has an incredible case for acquiring Jersey Island.
Fine… MAKE IT:
- Show exactly how ownership improves water reliability.
- Show how it protects Diablo Water District’s water supply.
- Show the measurable water-quality benefit.
- Show the total financial exposure.
- Show the mitigation estimates.
- Show the ongoing maintenance costs.
- Show who pays for restoration.
And show ratepayers whether their bills go up or down!
Put it on one page.
If the public benefit is really that obvious, explaining it shouldn’t require thousands of pages and an advanced degree in environmental science.
Ironhouse didn’t abandon Jersey Island. It bought it for a legitimate wastewater purpose. Technology eventually eliminated that need. Ironhouse then generated revenue from the property, maintained it and helped protect the levee system surrounding it.
Now another public agency wants to buy it and potentially assume decades of environmental, restoration and maintenance obligations. Before that happens, somebody needs to explain what problem we’re actually solving.
Ratepayers have essentially already bought Jersey Island once.
Before the public buys it again, let’s make damn sure we know why.
Three questions:
- Will rates go up or down?
- Why does Diablo Water District need to own Jersey Island?
- What do ratepayers actually get?
Answer those first.
Everything else is noise.
Mike Burkholder
Publisher of ContraCosta.news
burk@contracosta.news