EBMUD Rate Increase Okay but Quarry Project is Not

On May 15th, I attended the Castro Valley MAC meeting where EBMUD explained their proposal to raise rates this summer and again next year. The staff said the 2023 rate increase will amount to about $5.70 per month, and slightly more per month in 2024. Over half of the increase is slated to be used for infrastructure repair and improvement.

Within the last three years EBMUD approved the expenditure of over $2.2M for consultants to help with the Environmental Impact Report for the ill-fated Quarry Site Project at Lake Chabot Road. EBMUD also paid $150,000 for the option to buy the Quarry site. What a waste of money! The Quarry Site Project would send 60-100 dump trucks every day, for 40-80 years, up and down Lake Chabot Road, a fragile road that runs through a thriving neighborhood and right next to our beautiful, serene parkland.

When the Quarry project was first suggested, someone on staff could have said right away, “that’s a bad idea!” Why was it necessary to spend all that money on consultants, and consume all of that staff time on such an ill-conceived project? That $2+M could have covered the proposed rate increase for over 29,000 households within EBMUD’s jurisdiction.

Since the project has not been terminated, EBMUD might try to repackage it, and spend more money trying to finagle an EIR that moves the project forward. If you want to make sure your hard earned money is not spent on the Quarry project, please send an email to the president of the EBMUD Board of Directors at Andy.katz@ebmud.com. Let Mr. Katz know this project should be terminated once and for all! See savelakechabotroad.com for more information

–Tondelajo Smith, San Leandro