Rainbow Water officially opposes Gregory Canyon

For the first time in the history of the Rainbow Municipal Water District or the planned Gregory Canyon Landfill project, the Rainbow board officially took a position expressing opposition to the proposed Gregory Canyon Landfill.

The board’s 4-0 vote Aug. 27, with Bob Lucy absent, adopted a resolution opposing the proposed landfill and urging all federal, state, and local agencies involved to deny any permits or other approvals sought for Gregory Canyon. The motion also directs Rainbow staff to monitor the status and progress of any necessary permits or other approvals, to keep the board informed of the status of those processes, and to provide comments as necessary on those permits or approvals.

“Gregory Canyon is placing potential future water supplies for the Rainbow water users in jeopardy,” said Rainbow board member Dennis Sanford.

The adopted resolution states that the landfill would be located on or closely adjacent to underground water basins which have substantial quantities of potable water and which are also potential sites for underground storage for imported water, that the landfill’s construction and operation near San Diego County Water Authority pipelines would threaten the integrity of those pipelines and the quality of water in those pipelines, and that the failure of the landfill liner would destroy underlying groundwater basins.

“To my knowledge there’s not been a landfill in the country that has not leaked at some point,” Sanford said. “When it leaks, because of its proximity it will pollute a potential water source for Rainbow.”