Draft Environmental Impact Report - East Bay Municipal Utility District

Estates Reservoir Replacement Draft Environmental Impact ReportCultural ResourcesThe new CCWC, headed by Dingee, lasted only until 1906, when the Peoples WaterCompany was created (Noble, 1999:11). The Peoples Water Company took in CCWC,the Richmond Water Company, and some smaller concerns. The Peoples WaterCompany immediately faced a challenge as the demand for water increased substantiallyin the early years of the 20th century. In November 1916, after struggling for ten years,the East Bay Water Company was incorporated “to bail out the sinking corporate ship ofPeoples Water” (Noble, 1999:16). Like the private companies before it, East Bay WaterCompany inherited an uphill battle. Not only was demand from household consumersincreasing, but World War I significantly increased the need for water in industrialapplications (Noble, 1999:17).By 1919, the Piedmont No. 1 Reservoir (Estates Reservoir), along with nine othersthroughout the East Bay, was being operated by the East Bay Water Company as either afiltration or a sterilization plant (Oakland Tribune, 1919:9). While the East Bay WaterCompany did its best to satisfy its customers, public opinion had shifted in favor ofpublic ownership of utilities. In 1921, the legislature began the process of shifting fromprivate to public control of water management and distribution and approved a bill thatprovided for the creation of a municipal utility district. That district, EBMUD, wasapproved by voters on May 8, 1923 (Noble, 1999:21).Improvements to the Oakland water supply system were undertaken in 1934 to supportthe growing demand for water. New, greater capacity lines replaced old, worn out mains,and storage works, pumping units and other structures were repaired (Hinkel andMcCann, 1939:658). In 1937, an increase in residential building, particularly within theOakland Hills area, and concomitant population increase, prompted the construction ofadditional storage tanks, and enlargement of pumping plants to distribute the water tohigher elevations (Hinkel and McCann, 1939:671).The Piedmont No. 1 Reservoir basin was enlarged and renovated between 1938 and 1939(EBMUD, 2008a). On March 30, 1939, the Oakland Tribune reported that:Reconstruction of Piedmont No. 1 Reservoir [Estates Reservoir] has been underway for several months and will be completed about May 1. The dam is beingraised seven feet, a new parapet wall is being built, and the entire reservoir has beengiven a lining of concrete. With Dingee Reservoir, which is on the same level, itserves 18,000 customers.A new 20-inch pipeline was also expected to be laid in the near future to replace anold pipe between Moraga Road and Estates Reservoir (Oakland Tribune, 1939:14B).According to EBMUD (2008b), the dam crest was raised approximately 9 feet,increasing the elevation from 765 feet above mean sea level to 774 feet above mean sealevel. An engineering drawing for this reconstruction work shows that, in addition to thework reported in the Oakland Tribune, an oil macadam pathway along with a rubblemasonry wall was constructed leading down to a structure described as the MontclairBooster Plant. A rubble masonry drain extended down the hill to a stilling basin near thesb09_001.doc 3-5.5 7/22/2009