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Water district says county cemetery proposal needs more environmental work; residents urged to keep opposing plan
Summary
Darcy Burke, director of the Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District, told the Canyon Lake City Council the county's environmental study of a proposed cemetery project had deficiencies, that state and federal water agencies had not yet weighed in, and that residents' grassroots opposition remains active.
Canyon Lake — Darcy Burke, director of the Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District, told the Canyon Lake City Council on Tuesday that the county’s environmental study of a proposed cemetery project near the reservoir had “deficiencies” and would need to be redone before it moves to the county planning commission.
Why it matters: Burke said the proposed project raises potential drinking-water concerns and falls under protections in the Safe Drinking Water Act and California’s Title 22 standards. Revisions to the environmental review and further input from state and federal regulators would be required before the project advances.
Burke told the council the district had reviewed the county’s report with outside experts and that an academic water expert told the district there was “no known mitigation for what they are proposing.” She said staffers had asked the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Region 9 and the Regional Water Quality Control Board to review the project; neither agency, she said, had yet weighed in. “The individual that did the study for the county is a traffic engineer, not a water quality engineer,” Burke said.
Burke and council members described active community organizing on both sides. Burke said resident opposition had generated “over 3,400” signatures, while she estimated supporters’ petitions numbered “6 or 8.” She told residents the Safe Drinking Water Act allows communities to oppose projects that may contaminate drinking-water sources and encouraged continued public engagement.
Burke also warned of potential wholesale rate increases elsewhere in the district: referencing another Metropolitan Water District project under consideration, she said a wholesale rate could increase “six times. So instead of $1,700 you’re looking at $6,800 an acre foot.” Burke said her agency had hired additional technical consultants, including an algae and limnology expert, to review operations and treatment options.
City officials and the water district said the process is ongoing and likely to extend into next year before any planning-commission hearing. The council and Dawn residents were invited to public information sessions; Burke said she would post a plain-language fact sheet and a more technical second page on her “Burke for Water” page and welcomed direct calls from residents with technical questions.
The council balance of comments urged continued public involvement: Council member Jeremy Smith and Mayor Pro Tem Castillo thanked Burke for her outreach and said the city would host community coffees and information sessions in October. Burke said the district’s front-page materials would explain maximum contaminant levels in parts per billion and parts per million, with technical contact information for residents who want further details.
