WATER

WATER

Someone observed that “geography is history,” so it’s not surprising to learn that calamities in Rio Vista’s history have been related to water, primarily flooding.  In fact the first effort of establishing a town was completely washed away. The original settlement was started at the juncture of Cache Slough, Steamboat Slough, and the old river, about a mile from the town’s current location, in spite of warnings from an early navigator that there had been flooding there.  With the typical pig-headedness of humans, enterprising people began building a general store, butcher shop, post office, livery stable, drug store, hotel, cannery, and undoubtedly a saloon.  This was in 1858.  Three years later, in December of 1861 the rains started and continued until January of 1862.

According to Shine’s  Early Years to Golden Years in Rio Vista: “Every one of the forty-seven buildings in the town was washed away…All of the town’s population was saved when they swam to a high mound and were rescued by the crew of the steamer Antelope.”  It’s a good idea to be a strong swimmer here even today, as the spring run offs can combine with unusually heavy rains to set the river lapping into the nearest streets while residents talk bravely about how solid the levees are.

AMBER AT THE RIO VISTA CITY BOAT LAUNCH

Ironically the current difficulties with water in Rio Vista have to do with how much it costs.  A lot.  For one very small cottage, mine, the bill is nearly $150 per month.  This has caused a great deal of acrimony and dissent among the citizenry.  A special election was  just held to force the city to lower the rates, but failed. Why water costs so much when there is so much of it evidently has to do with poor planning of treatment facilities in the past and not-much-better planning in the present.

Meanwhile, the local waterways draw visitors who fish and sail and water ski and jet ski and wind surf or just pull their RVs around to campgrounds on the Delta Loop, which, during the summer, has a transient population which rivals Manhattan.