Thanks to everyone who emailed the San Jose City Council about preserving funding for Lake Cunningham’s water quality. Unfortunately, the Council voted on March 14 to shift the funds to public safety construction projects. The Council did unanimously vote to pursue outside funding for Lake Cunningham, but the future of this beloved East Side lake is still uncertain.

City Council Shifts Measure T Funding Away From Water Quality Project

In 2018, San Jose voters overwhelmingly approved Measure T, a $650M infrastructure bond measure. In a groundbreaking move, $50M of that funding was designated by the City Council for natural flood and water quality protection, focused primarily on Coyote Valley. The 2019 acquisition of 937 acres of open space and farmland in North Coyote Valley for permanent conservation used less than the full $50M, leaving $3.2M unused in the “Environmental and Flood Protection Projects” funding category.

In 2021, the Council unanimously voted to keep that $3.2M dedicated to water quality projects, such as at Lake Cunningham, where the water quality is so bad that swimming and even boating are now prohibited. On March 14, the Council considered whether to keep the $3.2M committed to water quality or to shift it to public safety-related Measure T construction projects. In spite of receiving hundreds of emails from residents and hearing from numerous public speakers, the Council ultimately voted to use the $3.2M to alleviate funding shortfalls for public safety projects.

City Council Requests Pursuing Grant Funding, Supports Lake Cunningham Improvement Plan

The good news is that at the same meeting, the Council unanimously voted to pursue outside funding, including federal, state and local grants, for improving Lake Cunningham’s water quality. City staff presented a plan that would create a new wetland area to filter pollution from the lake – a recognition of the fact that historically, the entire Lake Cunningham area was once a freshwater wetland, and is still the place that all the stormwater from the surrounding area drains into. The Council unanimously voted to support this plan, but declined to commit any city funds toward it at this point, instead directing staff to look for grant opportunities and return to Council in fall of 2023 with a five-year funding strategy.

Lake Cunningham: An Environmental Justice Issue

For generations, Lake Cunningham served as one of the primary open space recreation areas for East San Jose. Families who could not afford expensive weekend trips had their own lake, in their own neighborhood, where they could swim, boat, and hold weddings and quinceañeras. But for decades, water quality in Lake Cunningham has been degrading to the point where now, swimming and even boating have been prohibited for health and safety reasons. This is both an environmental disaster and a major inequity inflicted upon a low-income community of color. The $3.2 million in environmental funding would have begun the path to improved water quality.

While we appreciate the Council’s vote for the proposed Lake Cunningham water quality improvement plan, outside funding is unlikely to be secured without matching dollars from the city. We hope that when staff brings this plan back to Council in the fall of 2023, the Council is ready to show true commitment to environmental restoration and to improving a much-needed recreational resource for the low-income community of color on the East Side.

Green Foothills will be monitoring this process and will alert our supporters when there is another opportunity to take action to help Lake Cunningham. If you don’t already receive our Action Alerts, you can sign up here.