Draft Environmental Impact Report - East Bay Municipal Utility District

Estates Reservoir Replacement Draft Environmental Impact ReportCumulative Impacts, Growth Inducement and Other Topics Required by CEQA5.2 Cumulative Impacts and Mitigation MeasuresAs shown in Table 5.1 and Figure 5-1, a total of fourteen projects have been identifiedwithin a one, two and three mile radius of the Estates Reservoir site, with the potential tocontribute to cumulative impacts. Seven are projects identified south of the Project siteand seven are projects north of the Project site.As noted before, the timing of many of the Project s listed is uncertain, and given thecurrent financial crisis being experienced locally, statewide and nationally, deferral ofconstruction schedules is likely.Cumulative impacts are discussed below by resource area. Due to the generalized levelof information on the Project s listed in Table 5.1 (and the lack of response from otherutilities) discussions are qualitative in nature. A discussion of the secondary effects ofgrowth potentially induced by the Project, are included later in this Chapter.VisualImpact C-1: Cumulative short- and long-term visual impacts.The geographic scope of this impact area is the general vicinity of the Estates Reservoirsite and the viewsheds for adjacent/nearby residents.As described in Chapter 3, mitigation measures would be employed to reduce short- andlong-term visual effects of the reservoir improvement project to an less than significantlevel, through managing construction debris on site to maintain a clean, clear area andinstalling a cohesive, low maintenance landscape plan that creates an open-space, parklikesetting in conjunction with interesting architectural detail in walls, drainage features,perimeter fencing and parking areas. No significant visual impacts are associated withthe pumping plant upgrade since all work is proposed within the existing structure.As noted in Figure 5.1, no other projects are known to be proposed in the immediate areaor vicinity during the Estates Reservoir construction period. EBMUD will developdetailed scheduling and phasing guidelines to minimize short-term visual impacts to thesurrounding area during construction of the Estates Reservoir Replacement and MontclairPumping Pump Upgrade.In addition, the reservoir site is screened from many surrounding vantage points byintervening topography and mature vegetation. Consequently, the likelihood of anycumulative adverse visual effects on local viewsheds during construction would be low.sb09_001.doc 5-6 7/22/2009