WHAT YOU CAN DO

The more residents that oppose the Bayside Groundwater Project, the greater the likelihood of successfully defeating the project.  The public’s outcry over the past several years regarding the Bayside Groundwater Project has resulted in significant progress in delaying the project and causing EBMUD to conduct further testing.  With an even larger and united opposition, we can defeat the project from being built near our residential community.

Here is what you can do to help defeat the Bayside Groundwater Project:
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1)  Collect Signatures Opposing the Bayside Groundwater Project

• Click here for a petition form that you can print and, once signed, send via U.S. mail to the P.O. Box listed on the bottom of the form.  The more signatures we have, the stronger and louder the message we can send to EBMUD and other elected officials that our community stands opposed to the Bayside Groundwater Project.
• Collect additional signatures on the petition form from friends, family, co-workers, anyone who lives in the EBMUD Service Area.  All EBMUD customers are paying for this project from their monthly water bills and have a voice to all the EBMUD Board Members who will vote on this project.  The EBMUD Service Area includes San Lorenzo, San Leandro, Castro Valley, Oakland, Alameda, Berkeley, Emeryville, Albany, El Cerrito, El Sobrante, San Pablo, Pinole, Hercules, Rodeo, Kingsington, Richmond, Crockett, Pleasant Hill, Walnut Creek, Lafayatte, Moraga, Orinda, Danville, Alamo, and San Ramon.  Remember that the EBMUD Board Members are all publicly elected officials.
• Click here for a summary informational flyer that you can print and share with people when collecting signatures.
• Click here to send us an email expressing interest in joining a petition gathering group at supermarkets and other local stores.

2)  Write Letters

• Write to EBMUD informing them that you oppose the Bayside Groundwater Project and its hazardous effects on the surrounding communities.  EBMUD’s Board of Directors will soon vote on whether or not to go forward with the Bayside Groundwater Project.  The Board of Directors are our elected officials.  You can let the directors know that the public does not want the Bayside Groundwater Project in our residential community.  Click here for a form letter you can print and send via U.S. mail to EBMUD.
• Write to the Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD) voicing your opposition to the cancer-causing contaminants that would be released into the air when the project is in operation.  The BAAQMD is a public agency responsible for protecting the quality of air we breathe in the Bay Area.  EBMUD is required to obtain a permit from the BAAQMD before EBMUD may begin constructing the Bayside Groundwater Project.  Without a permit from the BAAQMD, the project is defeated.  Click here for a form letter you can print and send via U.S. mail to the BAAQMD.
• Write to your local and state political representatives to urge them to oppose the implementation of the Bayside Groundwater Project.  Political pressure on EBMUD not to implement the project would likely have a significant impact on defeating the project.
  • Click here for a form letter you can print and send via U.S. mail to our local political representatives – San Leandro City Council.
  • Click here for a form letter you can print and send via U.S. mail to our local political representatives – Alameda County Board of Supervisors.
  • Click here for a form letter you can print and send via U.S. mail to our state political representative – Ellen M. Corbett, Assembly Member.

3)  Attend Public Meetings

• Attend the EBMUD board meetings to voice your opposition to the Bayside Groundwater Project.  The EBMUD Board of Directors meets at 1:15PM, on the 2nd and 4th Tuesday of every month at 375 11th Street, Oakland.
• Attend the BAAQMD board meetings to urge them to not grant EBMUD the air quality permit that is required for the Bayside Groundwater Project.  The BAAQMD Board of Directors meets at 9:30AM, on the 1st and 3rd Wednesday of every month at 939 Ellis Street, 7th Floor Board Room, San Francisco.
• Attend San Leandro City Council meetings to let the council members know that the Bayside Groundwater Project does not belong near a residential community.  The San Leandro City Council meets at 7:00PM, on the 1st and 3rd Monday of every month at the San Leandro Civic Center, 835 E. 14th Street, San Leandro.
• In addition to individual attendance, the Heron Bay Task Force will organize group attendances at the EBMUD, BAAQMD, and/or San Leandro City Council meetings.  Click here to send us an email expressing your interest in attending these group meetings.

4)  Talk to Your Neighbors

• Tell your neighbors, family, and friends about the Bayside Groundwater Project and its serious hazardous effects in order to gain even more support against the project.  The more people that show their opposition to the Bayside Groundwater Project, the more likely that EBMUD will decide not to build the project so close to our residential community.  Click here to see an example of a community uniting together to successfully oppose a project (recycled wastewater use in Redwood City).  This project can be defeated.

5)  Post Posters

• Ask your local shop or business owner to display a poster in their window to support our community.  Click here for a poster you can print.

6)  Stay Tuned to This Website

• We will keep you posted of upcoming activities to help defeat the Bayside Groundwater Project.  Stay tuned!