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Jun 30, 2023

Photos: EBMUD clears illegally dumped cars from steep embankments

Larry Seidel fed steel cable Wednesday as his coworker rappelled 300 feet down the side of Pinehurst Road near Moraga to hook a mangled Pontiac Grand Prix that could have been contaminating runoff

Larry Seidel fed steel cable Wednesday as his coworker rappelled 300 feet down the side of Pinehurst Road near Moraga to hook a mangled Pontiac Grand Prix that could have been contaminating runoff that feeds reservoirs for years.

“Big fish on the line, coming right up,” Seidel said as he pulled the lever to start the Grand Prix’s gravity-defying ride back up the hillside to a flatbed to haul it for proper disposal.

It was the second cleanup in two months for the water resources agency, which says it has removed eight tons of trash from 12 locations at EBMUD water sites this year alone.

EBMUD removed another eight abandoned cars at its cleanup in July. The $280,000 the district has spent since July 2021 to clean up trash in the East Bay watershed is money that should instead go toward water service, according to district public information officer Nelsy Rodriguez.

“This is the water that we drink. This is the water that we eat, drink and shower with; of course, it is raw, and we will treat it so it is safe when it comes out of your tap. But it just makes everything harder and more expensive,” Nelsy said of the abandoned cars as the towing crew staged to pull the Pontiac. “We’re really fortunate to live where we live and we’re really fortunate to have the water supply that we have — it comes straight from the Sierra Nevada mountains. We’re hoping that the public recognizes we’re really lucky. There’s no reason that we should be dumping trash here.”

Beyond cars, the utility district often finds sites large enough to suggest that commercial trash haulers are illegally dumping industrial amounts of automotive parts and landscaping debris as well as furniture, bicycles, mattresses, toys and hazardous waste materials.

To remove this junk, the utility district contracts with tree trimmers and towing companies, which it turns out are well-equipped for this kind of work, according to East Bay Municipal Utility District Manager Mark Silva.

“It’s disheartening,” Silva said. “Me and my crew are supposed to be taking care of the watershed.”

To confront and solve the problem, East Bay Municipal Utility District asks Alameda and Contra Costa counties residents to consider the following: