Personal watercraft enthusiasts hope to return to Anderson Lake
before the end of summer. But some residents who live around the
89,037-acre lake east of Morgan Hill would rather they never come
back. They voiced concerns about increased noise that reverberates
around the lake and water contamination from fuel at a public
meeting Monday night.
Personal watercraft enthusiasts hope to return to Anderson Lake before the end of summer.
But some residents who live around the 89,037-acre lake east of Morgan Hill would rather they never come back. They voiced concerns about increased noise that reverberates around the lake and water contamination from fuel at a public meeting Monday night.
No changes in the current regulations for boating at Anderson, Calero and Coyote lakes in southern Santa Clara County are anticipated until late summer.
Santa Clara Valley Water District and Santa Clara County Department of Parks and Recreation staff will review comments and suggestions made Monday before deciding on the next step.
“We would like to make a decision sooner than later,” said Joe Schultz, deputy director for the SCCDPR.
“The water district will go to the upper management and report how the meeting went and what we heard,” said Mike DiMarco, a spokesman for the SCVWD. “The management will decide if water district buys off on the proposal. The parks department will do same thing. It might need to go before a commission, but that determination has not been made yet.”
Further public meetings on the PWC issue are not expected, DiMarco said.
Approximately 50 people turned out for a meeting to voice concerns and make suggestions to the SCCDPR and SCVWD.
The changes under consideration are to bring back personal watercraft, also known as jet skis, to Anderson and increase the limit of the craft on Calero and Coyote.
The limits have been in place for five years. They were designed to eliminate MTBE, a cancer-causing additive in gasoline that powers the crafts. MTBE was eliminated in January as an additive.
Along with increased noise, the change was opposed by environmentalists. Contamination, safety and noise were cited as reasons not to enact changes in the boating regulations.
Personal watercraft riders and opponents offered pros and cons during the hour-long meeting held at the Friendly Inn.
Residents of Holiday Lakes Estates, whose homes are above Anderson Lake, worried about the noise from the PWC.
Brad Hembree, a jet ski enthusiast from San Jose, said PWC were not nearly as bad as environmentalists made them seem. He and other supporters downplayed the noise, saying most noise is muffled compared to outboard motor boats. Hembree said PWC will reach 71 decibels compared to 107 decibels reached by a racing boat that can reach 107 decibels.
Most boats on the market emit no more than 90 decibels.
Resident John Boyne said the existing noise level bothered him.
“The boats can be so loud, I can’t use my phone,” he said.
Others didn’t have much of a problem with the noise.
Lake resident Jackie Guevara pointed out Anderson has enjoyed a good safety record.
“The only deaths have been from boats, one from drowning and the other was drinking,” Guevara said. “If you don’t like the noise, then don’t move on the lake.”
The state has limits on the sound output. Boaters will be monitored closely, parks officials promised.
Rangers will be trained to monitor the noise levels either by ear or sound instruments. Craft allowed on the water must not exceed state standards of 82 decibels measured from 50 feet, according to the state Harbors and Navigation Code.
Supporters of personal watercraft were in the majority at the meeting. There were, however, some who did speak out against lifting the ban.
Sean Smith, public lands director for the San Francisco-based Bluewater Network, was the strongest advocate against bringing PWC back.
“PWC have been shown to cause significant damage to wildlife,” Smith said. He added jet skis have been known to dump 25-30 percent of their unburned fuel. “Not all pollutants evaporate.”
Jet ski activists were quick to counter the claim by pointing out PWC were not the only water craft that pollute.
“They do pollute, there are a lot of vessels that do, but they’re not as dirty as thought,” said Larry Steven, a jet ski rider from San Jose.
Originally, the SCVWD wanted to restrict PWC to four-stroke engines and two-stroke engines with direct fuel injections.
The SCVWD was concerned that four other chemicals, benzene, ethyl benzene, toluene and xylene, would get into the water supply through the traditional two stroke engines. But after lobbying from boating groups, they reconsidered.
“For the past 10 years, we have taken close to 1,000 samples,” said Bruce Cabral, water quality unit manager at the SCVWD. “We had two detects and they were below maximum levels. We feel it’s safe to bring back on.”
While water quality was a major concern Monday night, safety was another issue.
“What I see is a recipe for disaster,” said Holiday Lake Estates resident Stu Nuttull. “(Jet skis) can get in the way super quickly, especially on Anderson which has a lot of boats.”
Nuttull was also concerned with an even further increase of boaters as more people move into the area.
Personal watercraft users said jet skis were only as dangerous as the person riding them and boaters poise just as great of a risk if the boater doesn’t know what he is doing.
“It has to do with the person, not the craft,” said Morgan Hill resident and jet ski rider Nicole Zvara.
“I’ve never seen a jet skier with a beer in his hand,” said Joel Hembree, an avid jet ski rider, “but I have seen a boater with a beer.”
Anderson, along with Calero and Coyote, will have strict limits on the numbers of the boats. The county will follow a one craft per six surface acres of water, which means maximum numbers will vary depending on water levels.
While opening Anderson to PWC is good news to riders, local businesses could also benefit with people taking advantage of the new opportunity.
Steve LaRussa, manager at Coyote Bait and Tackle on Monterey Road south of Metcalf Road who was not in attendance at the meeting, said opening Anderson will take pressure off of Calero, a popular fishing spot.
“I would rather see jet skis on Anderson than Calero,” LaRussa said. “It will take pressure off of other lakes.”
