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Morrell Canyon:
Preserve a Santa Ana Mountains Canyon
from Death by Drowning
Contact:
Gene Frick, Santa
Ana Mountains Task Force Co-Chair
Paul Carlton, Santa Ana Mountains
Task Force Co-Chair
Robin Everett, Santa Ana Mountains
Task Force publicist, 949-338-5356
Bill Corcoran, Southern California Forests Campaign, 213-387-6528 x208,
An Ill-Conceived Hydroelectric Project Would Destroy a Prized Recreational Area
Morrell Canyon, a beautiful oak-filled canyon nestled in the Santa
Ana Mountains, is a favored Orange County hiking spot. However, plans
to flood the canyon by building a dam and a pump/storage hydroelectric
facility threaten this popular gateway to the San Mateo Wilderness and
would drown a scenic, unspoiled area of the Santa Ana Mountains.
The proposed hydroelectric scheme would pump water 1,600 feet uphill
from Lake Elsinore (to the east, in Riverside County) every night, store
it behind the dam, then release it during the day to generate hydroelectric
power to sell at daytime peak rates. Morrell Canyon, its creek, and its
rare southern coast live oak forest would be drowned beneath two million
gallons of polluted water, depriving the public of an irreplaceable recreational
area heavily frequented by hikers, bikers, hang-gliders and others.
The project's sponsors - the Elsinore
Valley Municipal Water District and Nevada Hydro Company - request
for project approval is currently under review by the Federal
Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).
The Sierra Club opposes the proposed hydroelectric project for the following
reasons:
- The project would destroy a gateway to the popular San Mateo Wilderness.
Morrell Canyon sits on the edge of the Wilderness and acts as a protective
buffer. If the project were approved, hikers would find a 180-foot dam
at the Wilderness boundary instead of an oak-filled canyon.
- Electricity generated by the plant would be connected to lines carried
on a series of 190-foot-high transmission towers extending for many
miles through the Cleveland National Forest. These towers would be visible
from parts of the San Mateo Canyon wilderness and destroy its visual
qualities. Construction of the line would impact important wildlife
habitat, while high-tension lines present a fire hazard in forest areas.
- The towers would also destroy a premier hang-gliding site. "Places
like this are extremely rare," said Mike Hilberath, vice president
of the Elsinore Hang Gliding Association. "We'd like to see a way
to improve the transmission of power that doesn't rob people of their
enjoyment of public land."
- The additional power generated by the project can be rendered unessential
if California adopts strong power conservation measures to reduce energy
demand. The Sierra Club favors the building of smaller power sources
close to high demand areas, in a more efficient system of distributed
generation and transmission.
- Release of water by spills or leakage at the dam would introduce lake
biota into the canyon below, posing a threat to the downstream ecology.
- The project would stir up the sediment in Lake Elsinore, worsening
water quality in a lake already listed as impaired by the state of California.
- Fluctuating levels in Lake Elsinore could potentially have adverse
effects on shoreline property and on wildlife in the lake.
Hydroelectric Plan Launched in 2004
The threat to Morrell canyon materialized in February, 2004, when the
plan was placed before the FERC for approval. In September, 2004 FERC
held a series of scoping hearings at which citizens voiced their opposition
to the project. FERC is currently reviewing the comments submitted during
the scoping process and plans to issue a draft license and Draft Environmental
Impact Statement spring of 2006. A three-month comment period will follow
the release of these documents. The Sierra Club plans to submit opposing
comments.
"Morrell Canyon is a special part of the Cleveland National Forest,
full of gorgeous oak trees, brooks, and little waterfalls, and with easy
access for families and children," says Robin Everett, a Sierra Club
volunteer who hikes here. But if the dam is built, "instead of this
oak canyon you would see a giant concrete wall."
Campaign Partners and Supporters
The Sierra Club is only one of several groups opposing EVMWD and Nevada
Hydro's Morrell Canyon dam project. Other organizations include:
Public officials who have expressed public opposition
to the Morrell Canyon dam include:
- Mr. Karl Warkomski,
mayor, Aliso Viejo, CA
- Mr. Gus Ayer, city councilmember, Garden Grove, CA
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