Environmental extremes are dangerous There are three...

Environmental extremes are dangerous

There are three natural dangers in California: wildfires,

earthquakes, and flooding. We know they will occur, but we live here

anyway, figuring the benefits outweigh the risks. We mitigate the

risks, with insurance, building and fire codes, wild land abatement

programs, and flood control channels.

Every person wants a pristine environment, but it takes balance.

The environmental extremism view that Jan Vandersloot pushes forward

leads to unreasonable risks. We need look no farther than the current

wildfires to see how poor wilderness management and the unrealistic

protection of various creatures has led to overgrown wild lands.

Now, Vandersloot would like to protect the nesting and feeding

area for the least Bell’s vireo, an endangered bird, at the expense

of clean beaches and the danger of dangerous flooding. This clog in

the river at Adams Avenue is a snag that catches debris and sediment

that washes down the watershed.

The sediment, or urban runoff, builds up in the river until it

blocks the channel or explodes out into the ocean when a large winter

storm hits. The Army Corps of Engineers and the country is trying to

take the corrective steps necessary to prevent flooding and control

the debris that will end up on the beach. They do this by maintaining

the flood control channels. The Santa Ana River is lined with

concrete from the Coast Highway Bridge to the Arrowhead Pond in

Anaheim.

Most of Orange County, and large sections of Riverside and San

Bernardino counties, rely on this channel to effectively evacuate

rainwaters during storms. In the event flooding takes place, not only

does it jeopardize lives, but sends sewage and various contaminants

into the river and into the ocean.

It is interesting how Vandersloot interjects himself and his group

of the day, such as the Ocean Out Fall Group, into various

improvement projects that have been planned for years, only to cause

confusion and delay. The next thing you know, his

save-the-Balboa-ficus-tree group, which delayed another well-planned

project, will want to plant ficus trees in the river bottom.

Will Vandersloot be forming the clean-the-crap-off-the-beach group

when a winter storm causes flooding and deposits all the trees,

bushes, sludge and trash that is now clogging the river bottom on to

the beach?

We live in Newport Beach to be near clean beaches, enjoy views of

the Pacific and enjoy the harbor. We live in Newport Beach to be

safe. The residents here generally care about the environment and

want the city and county to take reasonable steps to protect it.

However, we do not live here to look at overgrown trees that block

views or to have unruly ficus trees tear apart our plumbing. And we

certainly do not expect to jeopardize public safety and the potential

contamination of the ocean and harbor over a vocal group’s

unreasonable concerns.

To quote Vandersloot, “I don’t understand why they have to have

such a huge concrete capacity in the Santa Ana River as it goes

through Orange County and why they can’t do things like create a soft

river bottom so that water has a chance to seep into the river.”

That’s right you do not understand. So until you understand, maybe

you and your over vocal activist groups should take a seat. The river

is lined from the Orange Crush down to the ocean to keep urban runoff

from seeping into the water table and to maintain the flow of storm

runoff during large winter storms. I suggest you go look at the river

during a heavy rain or look at the historical photos of the last few

floods. The Army Corps of Engineers, the county and various Orange

County cities have been looking at this problem a long time and

determined that the risk outweighs the concerns.

BRENT JACOBSEN

Newport Beach

What’s Newport’s

stake in a bridge?

A bridge over the Santa Ana River at 19th Street is not an issue

for Newport Beach because it goes directly into Costa Mesa and

Huntington Beach.

The city of Newport Beach should have absolutely no say in this

matter as very few of its residents are affected compared with Costa

Mesa and Huntington Beach. Victoria Street almost never has any

significant traffic on it -- I can easily get where I need to go with

no wait with the only exception being in the morning around 7:30 to 8

a.m. and I must use Victoria between the Costa Mesa Freeway and

Huntington Beach daily. The rest of the day, traffic is fairly light.

I see absolutely no reason to create a bridge at 19th Street,

which will significantly and negatively impact nearby residential

neighborhoods, wildlife in the protected areas and the environment.

Since Costa Mesa is interested in revitalization of that area, the

city of Costa Mesa should vehemently oppose any bridge in that

location, as well as oppose any involvement of Newport Beach, upon

whom the existence or non-existence of a bridge will have little

relative impact.

LISE F. SLACK

Costa Mesa