A steering committee next week will tackle ways
to improve both the quality and quantity of water flowing from Madera
and Fresno counties into Millerton Lake.
The Millerton Area Watershed Coalition steering committee includes
a wide range of organizations and private landowners in both counties.
"I think there's a high level of interest because water is one
of the primary challenges in this region," coalition coordinator
Steve Haze said Monday in Prather.
A five-member assessment team meets today at California State
University, Fresno. A public meeting of the community-based coalition
is scheduled for 6 p.m. Aug. 22 in the Friant Learning Academy.
Funded in March by the CalFed Statewide Watershed program, the
Millerton area study envisions a detailed drainage report focused on
26 miles of the San Joaquin River flowing through the foothills from
Kerckhoff to Friant Dam.
Madera County has 115,000 acres of runoff land involved in the
study. Fresno County has the remaining 48,000 acres.
The 19-member committee is led by Fresno County Farm Bureau
Executive Director Karla Kay Fullerton. She also owns property in the
Millerton area. Its vice chairman is Jeff Roberts, president of the
Millerton Lake Area Chamber of Commerce.
The steering committee includes Madera County Board of Supervisors
Chairman Frank Bigelow, an O'Neals area rancher; Denis Prosperi of
Madera, chairman of the county's Water Committee; and Madera
Irrigation District General Manager Steve Ottemoeller. Sierra Foothill
Conservancy Executive Director Chuck Peck and Save Our Streams
President Lloyd Carter also are on the committee.
The reporter can be reached at cmcarthy@fresnobee.com
or (559) 675-6804.
