The November 16, 2023 meeting of the Redwood Valley County Water District Board highlighted water management issues, including challenges in drilling a new well at the Masonite test site. Despite setbacks, there’s optimism supported by grant funds for further exploration. Discussions also included water usage, financial audits, infrastructure repairs, and efforts to consolidate independent water districts with the City of Ukiah.
Project Manager Jordan Blough of LACO spoke to the Board about the failed attempt to find a new municipal well on the old Masonite property, owned by the Millview County Water District, where there is already a large well that produces water for Millview. Redwood Valley was hoping to find enough groundwater on the same property to support a new municipal well and has grant funding to support this.
After the first try, the well driller reported that production was about 80 gallons per minute, but that is not enough for a municipal water supply. Blough told the Board that LACO and the hydrogeologists are going to reassess the situation. Drilling has been paused to preserve the grant funds. $1.6 million of the original $1.9 million grant is still available. It will cost approximately $10,000 to $12,000 for the geophysics team to refine and analyze the studies. They are still hoping to find water on the Masonite site because the existing infrastructure and interties are already in place to pipe the water to Redwood Valley.
Director Cassie Taaning wanted to know how the studies conducted before drilling differed from what was found. Blough described the method used, which involves trying to find the type of subsurface that could indicate water-bearing, using electrosensitivity to test the underground resistance. The test showed that it looked like the spot for the first well could have been promising. After discussion, the Board voted to have the hydrogeologists and LACO continue looking for water at the Masonite site.
The District’s financial audit is almost finished. The auditor will address the board members, possibly at the next board meeting, to explain the results and the changes in the chart of accounts.
Director Bree Klotter wanted to know how much has been spent on water, versus how much was sold. On the water use worksheet showing year to date, about 128-acre feet is not accounted for.
Board President Adam Gaska said some of the water purchased is stored at the holding pond, but not yet sold. General Manager Jared Walker said there are various reasons for water loss: sometimes the ag meters get stuck, in hot weather the holding pond evaporates quite a bit, there is leakage in the ag system, and some water theft. The holding pond is unlined, which could result in a 5-10% loss of volume. The Board discussed whether it would be advantageous to install a pond liner, but concluded that it would be hard to justify draining the pond to put in the liner, and there would be no water for fire protection during the installation. The District is replacing water meters, beginning with the broken ones as needed, rather than replacing them all at once.
Walker reported that repairs to the access road to the Lake Mendocino pump station is 80% completed, brush removal is still needed. The water treatment plant is running well. The District has used less water than Russian River Flood Control allotted this year. The insurance company payment for damage from the Hopkins fire has not yet been received.
Energia subcontractors began the installation of the new solar plant, however, when the pallets were opened they found that a lot of the panels were broken. Energia is responsible for replacements.
The Board discussed the fire hydrant markers, and blue reflectors that mark the pavement in front of hydrants so that first responders can find them. The Fire Department did not like the type of reflectors ordered, which have peel-and-stick adhesive on the back. The better types of reflectors need to be applied with hot tar. The District does not have the equipment and personnel to do this type of road work.
The Board discussed the Russian River Water Forum, which was still waiting for PG&E to issue its draft application to surrender the Potter Valley Project. PG&E has since released the Initial Draft Surrender Application (the password is PV_Surrender), which included the proposal to keep the diversion tunnel open between the Eel River and the Russian River as an option. The Mendocino County Inland Water and Power Commission, one of the lead agencies negotiating with PG&E to keep the diversion tunnel open, asked the Districts how much water it will need annually from the remodeled diversion facilities. After discussion, the Board voted to ask for 2000 acre-feet per year.
The working group on consolidating the independent water districts with the City of Ukiah met to discuss how to approach the State reviewers’ questions on their working document. The attorneys will provide a draft response to the State next month.
Mendocino County LAFCO was presented with options for raising money for the Ukiah Valley Groundwater Sustainability Agency. The plan to fund the GSA will either be a property tax assessment or a bill for water usage. The GSA submitted another invoice to the water districts to fund the rate study. Redwood Valley’s portion is around $9,000, due in March 2024. The benefit to the landowner is that by monitoring groundwater, hopefully, the existing wells won’t go dry, as many have done in the Central Valley. The board tabled further discussion until next month.
