Would You Like Some Dead Racoon With That?

SARATOGA, CA — For more than 10 years, California Dept of Transportation workers have been dumping roadkill into a ravine on the San Jose Water Co. property, despite a “No Littering” sign, and now the company is worried the water supply is vulnerable.

According to a September 29 Mercury News story, thousands of deer, raccoon and other carcasses were dumped over a cliff onto the property. Many of the carcasses and skeletons ended up in Saratoga Creek as a result.

John Tang, a spokesman for the company, which supplies water to more than 1 million people, said, “This is an important issue. It could have an impact on the water supply.”
Residents have been saying that the Saratoga creek is cloudy and foamy. John Cherbone, Saratoga’s public works director, said the creek has tested for high levels of fecal matter in the past.
Cherbone said in the story, “At this point, we don’t know if carcasses of dead animals or whatever have any connection to what we’ve been looking at. But we’ll certainly be looking at that moving forward.”