Raising a glass to the filling of San Joaquin Reservoir

The long-running concern about what to do with the San Joaquin

Reservoir came to a peaceful and beneficial end last week in a

ceremony that saw gallons of reclaimed water empty into the

long-dried-out body of water.

By refilling the reservoir, officials from the Irvine Ranch Water

District and the city of Newport Beach capped off a decade-long

debate over the fate of the 55-acre man-made lake and restored it to

its previous glory.

The San Joaquin Reservoir was born some 40 years ago as a drinking

water and firefighting source. Carved into the canyons of Spyglass

Hill, the water body served as a picturesque backdrop to the

homeowners in the Harbor Ridge and Harbor View communities.

Then nature took its course.

The reservoir became infested with midge fly larvae that seeped

into the drinking supply.

Then came another pest. African clawed frogs that dined on the

larvae soon took over the lake, and they too, or at least some of

their skeletal remains, made their way into residents’ taps.

The only solution to the pestilence seemed to be to cover the

reservoir. But the idea of having that aquatic scenery turned into a

more industrialized vision did not sit well with the adjacent

residents.

And so the fight went on for years until plans for covering the

reservoir slowed to a trickle with a landslide in 1995, which halted

the multi-million dollar cover- and restoration-project and shot up

the overall costs to some $35 million.

It’s been dried out ever since.

But last week that changed as the $16-million project to refill

the reservoir was officially completed. Even that project faced a

hurdle from Defend the Bay leader Bob Caustin, who filed suit to

ensure that the reclaimed water would not seep into the Upper Newport

Bay.

The reclaimed water will be used for irrigation purposes only.

While the solution may not be the best when considering the

limited drinking water supply in Southern California, in the end it

managed to make all sides practically gush with approval.

We’re glad to see the reservoir back in business, and we’re glad

that all sides have had their concerns addressed.