Wednesday, June 17, 2015

Grand jury wants Napa County to meter rural wells


Napa County should require major groundwater users to report how much water they pump from their wells, the county grand jury recommends.
The grand jury’s new report focuses on groundwater and recycled water. It asks the question “Is Napa in good hands?” and finds much to praise, along with more to do.
Groundwater is Napa County’s underground reservoir and is extracted by wells for farms, wineries, rural businesses and rural homes. The grand jury’s goal is sustaining groundwater for generations to come.
Napa Valley appears to have sufficient groundwater, though there is evidence the aquifers may not be fully recharging amid the drought, the report said. Groundwater is less plentiful in the hills.
The grand jury recommended that major water users be required by June 30, 2016, to meter their wells. They would file a water use report with the county every three months to ensure they are not pumping too much groundwater. The grand jury report doesn’t define “major users.”
Also, the grand jury recommended that the county encourage non-major groundwater users to meter and monitor their wells.
Napa County presently requires well metering only in the Milliken-Sarco-Tulocay basin in the rural area east of the city of Napa, where the aquifer is depleted, the grand jury report said.
Whether the county would want to undertake such a program elsewhere remains to be seen. Public Works Director Steven Lederer said the county doesn’t comment on grand jury reports until presenting responses to the county Board of Supervisors.
The idea of forcing farmers to meter wells and file reports has proven controversial in some parts of California. There are indications such a proposal could meet resistance in Napa County as well.
Napa County Farm Bureau Executive Director Sandy Elles said her group encourages members to monitor their well use and track output using a well log. But it doesn’t believe the information needs to go to a government agency unless there are aquifer problems.
Michelle Novi is industry relations manager for Napa Valley Vintners, which represents 500 members. She said the group has been part of the county’s groundwater dialogue and is committed to continuing this approach.
“Groundwater is a critical resource, both for the Napa Valley wine industry and our community as a whole,” Novi said.
The Napa Valley Vintners board has yet to review the grand jury report. Novi and Rex Stults of Napa Valley Vintners said the well-metering proposal could meet some resistance because of confidentiality concerns.
A similar situation arose in 2013, when the county sought volunteers for well metering so it could gauge the health of local aquifers. Some landowners were afraid the data would become part of the public record and affect property values.
Gary Margadant is president of the Mount Veeder Stewardship Council, a group interested in groundwater issues. He compared groundwater monitoring to measuring how much electricity a customer uses.
“If you can’t measure the water, then you don’t really know what’s going on in the aquifer,” Margadant said. “There’s nothing that gives you and your neighbor the knowledge of how the public resource under the ground is doing.”
The Napa County Board of Supervisors required groundwater monitoring when approving the Woolls Ranch Winery in the Mount Veeder area last November. Should water supplies be less than anticipated, the winery and vineyard must cut back operations to match available yields.
Another grand jury concern is the lack of a county groundwater drought plan.
“Citizens should expect their government officials to be prepared for all potential outcomes and have procedures or policies in place that they may rely on when needed,” the report said.
The grand jury also praised the county, saying for years it has “been ahead of the curve” on groundwater management. Accomplishments include monitoring aquifers and appointing the Groundwater Resource Advisory Committee to look at groundwater usage.
Another section of the report focused on recycled water. Napa Sanitation District handles sewage for the city of Napa and adjacent areas and creates cleaned-up, treated water that can be used for irrigation, though not for drinking.
The district is installing a pipe to take recycled water to the Milliken-Sarco-Tulocay area. This pipe passes near Napa State Hospital, which uses about 56 million gallons of city of Napa water annually for irrigation. That equates to 172 acre-feet, about an eighth of the water held in a full Milliken Reservoir, the smallest of the city’s two reservoirs.
Hospital officials say Napa State Hospital could cut its water bill in half by using recycled water for irrigation, the report said. It would cost $5 million to hook up to the pipe and the estimated payback is 10 years.
Napa Sanitation District Chief Financial Officer Jeff Tucker said the hookup cost includes having the hospital redo its lines to separate drinking water from recycled irrigation water.
The grand jury recommended the county and city of Napa lobby to make funding for this hookup a priority with the state.
June 14, 2015
Napa Valley Register

No comments: