U.S. Water News Online
SHAVER LAKE, Calif. -- Kirby Molen talks about water issues from the deck of a home in the Wildflower Village development near Shaver Lake, where home builders may be facing a moratorium because of limited water availability.
State officials warn that water shortages in the Shaver Lake area mean home building should be scaled back.
And if growth occurs too quickly in the next few years, a Fresno County supervisor is telling developers, they may have to stop building altogether.
At Shaver Lake, 1,453 lots are recorded, which includes land that does not yet have houses. A study prepared for the county more than 25 years ago said the county should allow no more than 2,000 homes before triggering use of water from Shaver Lake because of expected groundwater shortages.
Supervisor Bob Waterston has sent a letter to Shaver Lake developers warning that the community is expected to reach its 2,000-lot limit within two years.
"We don't want to get into the dilemma where homes are built and there is not enough water to get to them," said Ray Ramirez, special district administrator for Fresno County, which oversees water systems in Shaver Lake.
But what would seem to be an obvious solution for a lakeside community isn't, because of decades-old regulations that prohibit tapping Shaver Lake water for nearby residential and commercial use.
That irony is not lost on a group of landowners who have their sights set on lake water. First, they'll have to find water elsewhere as a tradeoff and build a water filtration plant.
To lead them to their goal, the land owners have hired a heavy hitter in Valley water circles: Dick Moss, the former general manager of the Friant Water Users Authority, an agency that oversees water flowing along Friant-Kern Canal to 22 water and irrigation districts on the east side of the San Joaquin Valley.
"I have enormous regard for Dick and his abilities," said Fresno water attorney Gary Sawyers. "He has both the background and ingenuity to do this if it can be done." More than 30 years ago, Fresno County secured water rights from Shaver Lake from the federal Bureau of Reclamation. But the permit, issued by the state Water Resources Control Board, did not include Shaver Lake as "a place of use" for the water, Sawyers said.
That wasn't a problem for years, as wells flowed with water for a small community.
Now, water supply that in previous years would have been enough for 40 homes is considered adequate only for 30 homes, a "75 percent rule" the state Department of Health Services warned in a letter to Fresno County officials.
In addition, the town's water well tests are falling short of county requirements by about one-third.
The most serious concern is the continuing difficulty finding water in hard rock. It's a two-part problem: six years of drought and growing numbers of full-time residents seeking a new mountain and lakeside retreat.
And it's a growing concern. The state also sent warning letters to Sierra water agencies in eastern Madera, Mariposa, and Tuolumne counties.
Ken Schmidt, a Fresno hydrologist who has prepared water studies for Shaver Lake, said more year-round residents are showing up with each passing year.
"It used to be if you could have water on Labor Day, you'd be all right," Schmidt said. "The groundwater supply is limited, and they always knew when they grew enough they would have to go to surface water [Shaver Lake]."
The need for lake water grows as the community's well levels continue to fall.
Cindy Forbes, the state's chief administrator for drinking water standards in the Fresno region, described the state's 75 percent rule as a "resurrection" of a 1996 rule that went into effect when water wells were coming up short of necessary supplies.
"If I was asked to name a system in the foothills that relies on hard-rock wells that has too much water, I couldn't name one," Forbes said. "I don't see water supply issues going away any time soon."
And, intensifying the concern are water consumption records showing that more people live in Shaver full time instead of as vacationers, Forbes said.
A barometer is post office box rentals, which indicate full-time residency. According to U.S. Postal Service records, there are now about 600 long-term post office box rentals in the Shaver Lake area compared with 450 to 500 five years ago.
"It's very scary to be allowing a lot more new development relying on hard-rock wells," Forbes said.
Kirby Molen represents one of the major landowners: Wildflower Village, 621 homes on 606 acres. It's about 20 percent built out. Molen said developers will move ahead with their plan to use water from Shaver Lake, build a water filtration plant and find replacement water for other San Joaquin River users.
He estimates that major landowners in the Shaver Lake area have more than 2,500 lots to develop in the coming decades.
The lucrative housing market attracting buyers from coastal areas and the Valley serves as an incentive for Shaver Lake's major landowners to propose a plan to acquire lake water.
But Molen said he views Waterston's letter as more of a reminder than a threat.
"I think he is saying, 'Boys, are you thinking in advance? And don't expect to go above 2,000 [units] without that lake water.' "
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