The Willow Glen Resident

Local boaters will find less company on the reservoirs

Water district votes to cut number of boats due to concerns over gas chemical

By Christine M. Lias

When boating season officially commences May 1, local boaters may be in for a surprise--as well as a lot more room on the water.

The Santa Clara Valley Water District voted 5-2 at its April 21 meeting to cut by one-third the number of motorboats on Anderson, Coyote and Calero reservoirs because of concerns over a potentially leaking chemical.

Methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE) is a colorless, oxygenated compound that has been added to gasoline since the late 1970s to reduce air pollution. Recently, the Environmental Protection Agency, the state Department of Health Services and the local water district have been concerned over what appear to be leaks of the chemical into groundwater and reservoirs.

The EPA has labeled MTBE a possible human carcinogen, but the long-term effects of MTBE are unknown and the causes of the groundwater seepage hazy. But one thing is clear: MTBE found in motorboat gasoline can be found in places where the boats coast.

"Water quality is our primary mission," said Joe Judge, who represents Willow Glen on the Santa Clara Valley Water District's board of directors. "But it's farfetched to outlaw all motorboating."

The vote to decrease the number of motorboats this summer has been a long time coming. The water district began monitoring MTBE levels in local reservoirs and water treatment plants back in November 1996. Experts found that 70 percent of underground storage tanks, where some drinking water is stored, had some levels of MTBE, according to a water district memo.

The EPA has set limits of MTBE contamination at 20 to 40 parts per billion. The California Department of Health Services has set an interim level of 35 parts per billion. Anything above 35 could possibly be carcinogenic, but that is not yet known for sure, Judge said.

At five parts per billion, a consumer can taste the chemical in drinking water.

"It's supposed to taste like paint thinner," Judge said. "In the past, we had solvents [in the water] because of high-tech [chip manufacturing] and benzene because of gasoline. Now we have this."

The water district is continuing to study and measure the levels of MTBE in local drinking water. An investigation is under way at Great Oaks Well No. 3 in Santa Teresa.

In February, the water district proposed a ban on all motorboats on county reservoirs. That caught the attention of the Santa Clara County Parks and Recreation District.

"Our director went before the board to try to get them to reconsider," said Tamara Clark-Shear, a spokesperson for the parks and recreation district. "Our staff worked extremely hard to come up with a new proposal, and they accepted it."

When the mandate goes into effect May 1, the parks and recreation department will have to accommodate in several ways:

* Calero Reservoir will be restricted to mainly jet ski use. Fishing and ski boats will be permitted during select hours.

* Anderson Reservoir will only permit boats; no jet skis will be allowed.

* Coyote Reservoir will remain open to both boats and jet skis.

Reservations for Anderson and Calero reservoirs begin May 4 and can be made by calling 927-9144.

The new regulations will last until October. After the boating season closes, members of the water and parks districts will re-examine recreational activity.

"We're extremely excited to still provide boating and keep the reservoirs open," Clark-Shear said.

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