HomeMy WebLinkAbout07-15-2014 b1 ruiz]UL 18 2014 AGENDA
CORRESPONDENCE
For San Luis Obispo City Council from Arnold Ruiz
' Dated" 15 I `� Item# 1-
Laguna Lake needs to be prepared for restoration. This calls for lake maintenance. With the lake
bed exposed as it is, it would be easy and expedient to scrape the silt off the top of the lake
bed. A crane with a drag line would facilitate the operation. The silt should be set aside in a pile
on shore.,
The lake should be excavated as much as possible. The cost of excavating with drag lines and
earth movers is much cheaper and quicker than dredging. The crane operator instructions then
would be to build a canal possibly 100 yds long, 20 feet deep, 60 feet wide. The canal should be
sloped 45 degrees to keep the banks in place. The rock and hard pan should be placed around
the canal as a coffer dam. Place culverts around the canal between the canal and the lake body
to create a water passage with water gates in the culverts. When the canal is finished it will
separate the water of the canal from the water in the lake. The dirt and rock dug from the canal
will be the material used to build a whale around the canal.
By this system of engineering the project will be a progressive way to get the job done.
Posibly, we could be using the first canal on the second year after the rains fill the canal.
To try to do the job in one operation would cause a quagmire of equipment, the cost
would be musch higher and not necessary. There are many advantages in doing the project
systematically working with nature. The rains come in the winter months. Now is the time to
dig the canal to catch the water when it does come.
The big hang up to this project is going to be State and Federal involvement. The lake is
not a lake but a water way, a wet lands. But by shaping the canals and allowing the water to
flow, through the necessity for permits may be waived. The area will be enhanced greatly by
the depth of the lake. This should be politically correct and more financially affordable.
I recommend this plan for review by licensed aqua engineers and contractors.
County board of Supervisors: This same plan for Laguna Lake will work at Atascadero Lake and
other at Cambria to solve the water problem. Cisterns have been used since Rome built their
water ways. I recommend wind mill water pumps to oxiginate the water. These are long lasting
,low maintenance and beautifull . The best ones are made in Chicago. They can be placed on a
barge or on shore. Oxygen is very impoirtant for a fish population.
Unofficially, I have spoken to environmental agencies about my ideas. The people with
whom I spoke all agreed that it was a plan worthy of consideration. Many details need to be
worked out. I would like to present these ideas to aqua engineers with official permission from
the County Board.