MendoFever - December 17, 2024
Last month, the Mendocino County Inland Power and Water Commission held a Town Hall meeting in Potter Valley to engage and inform residents about water storage solutions in light of the impending loss of Scott Dam and Lake Pillsbury. Much of the meeting was technical talk by water engineers. During the public comment portion of the meeting, Potter Valley resident Hannah Foster stood up and voiced her frustration about the loss of Lake Pillsbury, a beloved local recreation spot. “Hi everyone, I don’t have a question. I have Save Lake Pillsbury hats for sale. Love you, Potter Valley, f—k you, PG&E!”
For Foster, whose family has lived in Potter Valley for 6 generations, the loss of Lake Pillsbury is personal. Foster’s grandfather worked for the US Forest Service at Lake Pillsbury, and her family has vacationed there for generations. The lake is a resource for firefighters. Her extended family lives in Upper Lake, Covelo, and Potter Valley. She has spent most of every summer at Lake Pillsbury. “I don’t know any other home,” said Foster.
Foster acknowledges that the Scott and Cape Horn Dams, and the Potter Valley Project, which diverts Eel River water through a tunnel into Potter Valley, would probably not be constructed today. This system of hydroelectric power generation and water delivery has been in place for more than a century and serves over half a million people. PG&E says that Scott and Cape Horn Dam are not up to today’s seismic standards and that it is not economically feasible to repair the hydroelectric power generating equipment. PG&E has petitioned the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for permission to surrender the project. No buyers came forward to take the Potter Valley Project off PG&E’s hands. The Eel River water users, fisheries groups, and others, want the dams removed.
Sonoma and Mendocino County water agencies are in the process of negotiating with PG&E, and designing and funding a new seasonal diversion to be used in the rainy season once the dams are gone. There are estimates of how much water will come through the tunnel in the seasonal diversion, but nobody knows, as it hasn’t yet been built.
This means that Lake Pillsbury will be gone forever. Foster feels that PG&E is not concerned with what will happen to Potter Valley and the communities surrounding Lake Pillsbury.
Foster said, “We heard whispers of PG&E’s plan to decommission Scott Dam about 8 years ago, but PG&E did not engage with people in Potter Valley. There was closed-door decision-making happening.” In 2020 she heard more about the decommissioning plans, which over the years began to solidify. This triggered Foster to do something.
What about the Mendocino Inland Power and Water Commission and the Potter Valley Irrigation District, which have been discussing PG&E’s plans in their regular board meetings? Those meetings are open to the public, and meeting minutes are available on their websites. (Here is a link to the MCIWPC meetings web page.) Foster says people are busy. “There is no way for citizens to engage. The talks happen in back rooms, led by bureaucrats. There is no way for the average person to say, ‘Hey, please stop this!’”
The decline of local news coverage from traditional newspapers can be blamed for people’s feelings of being uninformed. News reporting is transitioning from newspapers to online media sites. The local papers that are still in business do not provide the level of in-depth reporting as in years past. Many people don’t know how to find online news, and don’t know which sites are trustworthy.
Foster explained her decision to start selling “Save Lake Pillsbury” merch. “There aren’t a lot of opportunities for the average person to do anything to try and help save the lake. I’ve commented to FERC, I’ve shared on social media, I’ve written/tagged my representatives. I decided that since the people who are really trying to wash their hands of the dam are the ones I was being asked to send comments to, I’d try and support a group doing the work to fight removal instead. I figured generating awareness was a way I could help, in a form that was funny and familiar. I started selling [hats] from my booth at Potter Valley Rodeo and it took a while, but we’ve gotten a lot more traction as more people become aware of the possible loss of Lake Pillsbury, Scott Dam, and the Potter Valley Project.”
Foster supports, but is not a member of, The Lake Pillsbury Alliance, a 501(c)(3) organization formed by homeowners’ groups at Lake Pillsbury. “LPA has a board of members who do a lot of background work like attending regulatory and workgroup meetings and staying on stop of what other groups are doing behind closed doors. They don’t necessarily have an arm for active membership and their fundraising supports their legal fees to continue fighting removal.”
Foster got the idea to sell trucker hats and other merchandise from watching TikTok videos. After recovering costs, Foster donates all profits to The Lake Pillsbury Alliance. She is not affiliated with The Lake Pillsbury Alliance, and all opinions expressed are her own.
Foster has raised almost $2500 through the sale of merch, and donates the proceeds to The Lake Pillsbury Alliance. “I reserve some from each batch to continue printing the merch with a local screen printer, which I pay for personally.” Hats are $40, including sales tax. Foster sold hats at the California Deer Association dinner in November. They are currently available at Hometown Store Kitchen & Gifts, 290 South School Street in Ukiah. Foster added, “I’m hoping to [resume] online shipping again when the Christmas retail season slows down at my shops. We will have shirts available again in the spring in a new color too.”
Foster said, “I hope that people will take a look at where the water in Lake Pillsbury actually goes, and the amount of storage captured in the Lake Pillsbury basin. Water storage is critical for our communities and there’s so much captured in Lake Pillsbury that can be utilized up and down the North Coast. Our state government isn’t recognizing its important role, and I hope the federal government will.”
Read the MendoFever.com article on the Potter Valley Town Hall meeting.