'75 drought and Larkspur canyon

Meadowsweet Rich · Status: Offline

RE: '75 drought and Larkspur canyon

Paul · Status: Offline

I've been thinking about it today and I might be wrong about the Tocaloma pumps.
The article I read back in 1980 was about how it cost $6000.00 per day to run the
pumps , but now I can't remember if that was to actually pump water from Nicasio
Lake to Kent lake , which they still do later in the year.
When I was at Soulajoule last year I saw a modern looking building next to the AT&T
building that could very well be a pump station. It would make more sence to me to
pump from Soulajoule to Nicasio during a drought , a much shorter distance. I doubt
that they use any water from Soulajoule now , but maybe everything is in place to
use it in a drought. I don't know anyone who works at MMWD anymore , and I
wonder if the information I need is now classified due to homeland security , but I
will to try to investigate and report.
Another alternate source of water is Phoenix Lake , that is no longer used for
domestic water but could be pumped up to Bon Tempe Lake and treated at the
plant up there.

cat · Status: Offline

Hi Paul,
I don't know for sure how to spell Soulajoule correctly.....that's just the way it came out when I typed!!
I always pronounced it "sue la hoo lee" but once again, I'm not sure. I'm flabbergasted that this resevoir isn't being used. I had absolutely no idea.

I agree with you about the development. I had a paragraph written, but I deleted it because it was too bitter.

Paul Penna · Status: Offline

Paul wrote:

Back in the mid 60's it was actually a hill there with the Doreghty house at the top , thus the
name Doreghty Drive. ( Please excuse me if I mis-spelled the name ). And behind it was the Larkspur Lumber Co. yard with the railroad tracks right behind it. Then there was the Larkspur
Chevron station at road grade level on Magnolia. What they did was to blast away the hills to
create what is now the shoppping center.

Doherty, actually, hence the name Doherty Drive. The little hill with the mission revival-style Doherty home atop it was about where the driveway and parking lot for the shopping center is now. Well, we thought it was a hill, anyway. When it was graded away, it turned out to have been a midden from one of the coast Indian tribes. These days, I imagine that would have hindered the the project, if not stopped it dead. My sister Rosemary remembers finding arrowheads while rooting around that area when she was a kid.

The Doherty house is another one of those then-familiar Larkspur sights that I wish we'd had the foresight to photograph back then, but alas, we did not. I can still see it in my mind's eye, though. Very cute house nestled in trees and bushes. Made me think of one of those little Storybook Land models in Disneyland.

SteveC, thanks for reminding me about the project. I haven't lived in Larkspur since 1980, so I've lost touch a lot. I do recall hearing about it a couple years back when I was down there for one of the Historic Walks.

Here's another project that had been talked of sometime in the 60s: rerouting through traffic off Magnolia along a new thoroughfare that was to have been built along the old railroad tracks. I don't think it ever got beyond the pipe-dream stage, though.

-- Edited by Paul Penna at 04:46, 2007-03-23

Paul · Status: Offline

Cat , thank you for correcting my typo of the name Soulajoule ( pronounced Soo Lee
Hoo Lee , right ? )
I think the reason we don't here anything about the project is that it was a big
boondoggle. The MMWD spent millions on that project , but after the drought ended
in '77 they still completed the project but there was no need for the water and the
engineers were moaning about how much it costed for electricity back than.
Those were the days of rampant unregulated spending and now the MMWD has
announced today they are raising our rates , probably to help offset their past
mistakes.
I was at a big party out there last year at a new house right past the lake , the Lake
is full with I don't know how many acre feet of water that as far as I know is not being pumped to our
domestic water supply. Also the old AT&T satellite station is still there but run down
looking and being used for something else. I don't know what is going on with the
MMWD , but I met an employee many years ago that said the sold the pumps to the local
growers out there for a penny on the dollar - Not a fact but strictly hearsay !
I think it's time for the MMWD to come clean and tell us all about the project , the
costs, the status of the pumps and the use of the water , and what it would cost and
the results of re-activating Soulajoule Lake as a viable supply in case of another
drought.
As for the Desal plant , they told us it would cost 130 to 180 million of todays dollars
to build depending on what output we want , but we all know that due to unforseen
circumstances and inflation it will cost us 250 million. The main problem is they absolutely refuse to disclose the anticipated costs of running the plant , it's not just
electricity but also LNG , chemicals , rent , lab costs and labor. All for what ? I think
it's all about developement in what's left of Marin like you said , but more about
Sonoma County Developement.
If anything is built , all the developers should pay for it all , including the daily operations. If the developers don't want to pay , then we should vote to scrap the
plant and shut down all new developement in Marin and Sonoma.

Paul · Status: Offline

Back in the mid 60's it was actually a hill there with the Doreghty house at the top , thus the
name Doreghty Drive. ( Please excuse me if I mis-spelled the name ). And behind it was the Larkspur Lumber Co. yard with the railroad tracks right behind it. Then there was the Larkspur
Chevron station at road grade level on Magnolia. What they did was to blast away the hills to
create what is now the shoppping center. We used to hang out in the lumber yard in the big
stacks of wood , smoking ciggi's and making out with the girls. No doubt that in the heyday of
the railroad , the lumber was shipped directly there by train from all the mills that used to be
up north on the line

SteveC · Status: Offline

Paul, I'm sure you've heard of the "planning" of the development that will replace the greenhouses, the gas station, the Alpha Beta/Lucky/Albertson's shopping center etc.
I think it's about 20 acres.

They have been having town meetings on it forever.

By the way Paul, Was that shopping center an empty lot before they built it, or was something else there ?

Paul Penna · Status: Offline

cat wrote:

...and the downtown Larkspur developement...

Whazzat?

artlife · Status: Offline

we kept a bucket in the shower and used the grey water for the plants or flushing

also, a brick in the toilet

that drought formed my water usage habits for life

cat · Status: Offline

I was a kid when the drought happened, but my dad was a meter repairman for MMWD, so we heard a lot about the pipeline across the bridge, and I remember hearing about Soulajoule.
Do they not use Soulajoule water anymore? I've never even thought much about it. I suppose if the pumps have not been kept up, they could be repaired if a drought ever did occur. I do remember how there was no developement, because, obviously, no water, no new houses, but my oh my how times have changed.

Seems to me that after St. Vincents is built, and the downtown Larkspur developement, there shouldn't be much more large scale building going on? I can't put my finger on any other big developments in the works, seems things are almost built out. Except for all the regular sized homes being razed to create giant homes within our neighborhoods. Don't get me started there.
oh wait, maybe the Dutra rock quarry will become another subdivision.

I don't think the desal plant is a good idea either. Can you imagine how much electricity it would take to run the thing, and where are they going to dump all the sludge that is created?

Paul · Status: Offline

During the drought is when M.M.W.D decided to raise the dam at Soulejule Lake.
They built a pipeline to Kent Lake . They built the Tocoloma pump station. At the time
the M.M.W.D. engineers told us it cost US ratepayers $6000.00 a day for electricity to activate the Tocoloma pumps , I wonder what the cost of the whole project was , and
I wonder if the system is still in place and the pumps exercised and maintained in
working order if there is another drought.
It's something to think about since now there talking about a desalinization plant to
ween us of Russian River water so we can continue to feed all the new developement
at Hamilton and the proposed new developement at St. Vincints / Silvera propertys.
The Sonoma County Water Agency is going to need all their water for the HUGE
amount of developement going on right now , and want's to cut us off.
Remember also when they built the temporary pipeline across the upper deck of the
Richmond bridge. Water is a key issue for us and it ultimately controls developement.
I actually moved to Maui during the drought but they had a slight drought over there
back then too , not as bad as here though.
How often do droughts happen here historically ? Maybe every 50 or 60 years ? But
with global warming everything could change. I personally think the Desal plant is a
bad idea , they told us how much it would cost to build but won't say how much it
would cost to operate per day , $10.000 to $15.000 per day maybe ? We should
put pressure on the district to re-activate the Tocoloma pumps if and when there is
another drought , what do you all think ?

Paul Penna · Status: Offline

My father's water conservation efforts were written up in the July 21, 1976 edition of the Twin Cities Times. As is mentioned in the story, we had a huge yard and garden at 9 Arch St. in Larkspur (across the street and up the hill from the Lark Creek complex), so keeping it all reasonably green was a challenge.

Here's a scan of the story.

-- Edited by Paul Penna at 19:15, 2007-04-11

cat · Status: Offline

I remember my dad had a friend, either his first or last name was Duncan. He lived way up Piedmont Canyon, up to the top. During the drought in the mid '70s, he and my dad got very crafty. There was an old spring up at the top of this canyon, and my dad and Doug (I think his name was Doug?) built a pipeline from the spring, across the canyon, into Doug's backyard, with the pipes hanging from tree limbs and jerry-rigged all over the place. Duncan had plenty of water, and my dad used to bring barrels up to his place, and get them fille. Besides conservation, that is how our yard survived the drought.

Of course, we saved our bath water for the houseplants and flushing the toilet. Didn't use the dishwasher again, either. To this day, I still turn the water off when I brush my teeth, and I freak out when our lawn sprinklers spray over the sidewalk. My husband doesn't seem to care, though. City boy.

During the drought, we even had one of my friend's dad come over to dowse for water. He claimed he could do it, and by god, he did. He said that a lot of people could, so we all tried. I was the only one who it worked for. He used pieces of wire, I can't remember, I think they were copper, that were shaped like a long, angular U. With your elbows at your sides and your arms sticking straight in front, you held the wires out. You would then walk balk and forth, and when the wires crossed inwards on themselves, you would dig directly underneath. Totally freaky, but I swear it worked. First time, he crossed over an old buried water pipe on the perimiter of the yard, then, they crossed in the middle of the yard. We dug at that spot, and about 4 feet down, the hole filled about a foot with water. Don't think I am crazy; I swear this really happened!

Imagine the Marin County of today, if we had a major drought?
I sort of laugh to think of it.