Q The feds want to raise the San Luis Reservoir 20 feet for extra storage of water. I travel on Highway 152 along the reservoir and for the past decade the water level was always low, so why increase the height? The cost is estimated to be $360 million. Wouldn't it be better to use this money to make 152 from Gilroy to Casa de Fruta a four-lane freeway?

Ed Garcia

Santa Clara

A A lot of people want to see a four-lane road here, but the soft terrain isn't suitable for more pavement. A new road might be built south of the current 152 and could be a toll road, but that is many years away.

San Luis Reservoir, 2004.
San Luis Reservoir, 2004. (Mercury News)

But there's another reason: the millions of Californians who rely on the reservoir for drinking water. Paul-the-Merc-Environment-Reporter takes it from here:

"San Luis Reservoir is a key source of drinking water for Santa Clara County and a major holding area for water that is shipped south from the Delta to farms in the San Joaquin Valley and cities in Southern California. Millions of people and billions of dollars of the state's economy depend on it. From a statewide perspective, spending federal money improving San Luis Reservoir would affect more people than widening the road between Gilroy and Casa de Fruta.


"But it's not a done deal. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation is studying raising the height of the dam at San Luis Reservoir for three reasons. The first is to upgrade the dam, which was built 50 years ago and needs seismic safety improvements. The second is to reduce the occurrence of what's called the "low point problem," which happens in dry years when the water level gets so low that algae growth can cause drinking water quality problems. And finally, raising the dam would increase the amount of water that can be stored in the reservoir.

"While it's true that the reservoir doesn't fill every year, in wet years, water managers often have more water than places to store it, and like money in the bank, want more places to save it for future dry years, particularly as climate change continues to melt California's Sierra snowpack earlier in the year. There are probably five more years of engineering studies and other reports to be done, however, before Congress is in position to make a final decision."

Q I just bought a Prius plug-in and read in your paper that those green carpool stickers are getting scarce. Can I get stickers without having my new license plates?

Bill Rodman

San Jose

A No. The stickers are getting scarce, and the 40,000 limit could be reached this summer. The DMV once required that you have plates to get the stickers, but it has changed that policy to allow dealers to pre-order stickers for vehicles without plates in their inventory.

Q For more than 10 years the onramp at northbound Highway 101 and Mathilda Avenue in Sunnyvale has flooded any time there has been any rain because the gutter has been blocked with dirt that two guys with shovels could remove in two hours. Can we get this fixed?

Bill Healy


A Caltrans says the Mathilda offramp is in a low area with no drains and water can build up. Seems like we have to grin and bear it.
