MORGAN HILL
– Personal watercraft enthusiasts hope to return to Anderson
Lake before the end of the summer.
MORGAN HILL – Personal watercraft enthusiasts hope to return to Anderson Lake before the end of the summer.
But at a public meeting Monday night, 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.
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 Parks and Recreation Department.
No changes in the current regulations for boating at Anderson, Calero and Coyote lakes in southern Santa Clara County are anticipated until late summer.
The changes under consideration are to bring back personal watercraft, such as Jet Skis, to Anderson and increase the allowable limit of the craft on Calero and Coyote.
The limits – designed to eliminate MTBE, a cancer-causing additive in gasoline that powers the crafts – have been in place for five years. The additive was eliminated in January.
The change also was opposed by environmentalists. Contamination, safety and noise were cited as reasons not to enact changes in the boating regulations.
About 50 personal watercraft riders and opponents spoke during the hour-long meeting held at the Friendly Inn in Morgan Hill..
Residents of Holiday Lakes Estates, whose homes are above Anderson Lake, worried about the noise from the personal watercraft.
Brad Hembree, a jet ski enthusiast from San Jose, said personal watercraft are not as bad as environmentalists made them seem. He and other supporters downplayed the noise, saying most noise is muffled compared to outboard motorboats. Hembree said personal watercraft will reach 71 decibels compared to 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.
“If you don’t like the noise, then don’t move on the lake,” lake resident Jackie Guevara said.
The state has limits on the sound output. Boaters will be monitored closely, parks officials promised.
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 opponent of bringing personal watercraft back.
“PWC have been shown to cause significant damage to wildlife,” Smith said. He added the vehicles have been known to dump 25 to 30 percent of their unburned fuel. “Not all pollutants evaporate.”
Activists were quick to counter the claim by pointing out personal watercraft were not the only watercraft 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 water district wanted to restrict personal watercraft to four-stroke engines and two-stroke engines with direct fuel injections.
The water district was concerned that four other chemicals, benzene, ethyl benzene, toluene and xylene, would get into the water supply through the traditional two-stroke engines. 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 water district. “We had two detects, and they were below maximum levels.”
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.
Lake resident 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.
“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.”
Further public meetings are not expected, water district spokesperson Mike DiMarco said.
