A Sonoma County Civil Grand Jury is criticizing the decision to shut down the Sonoma Developmental Center water system when SDC closed at the end of 2018. Above, the SDC reservoir. Photo courtesy of Eldridge for All.
Suttonfield
Lake above the Sonoma Developmental Center and adjacent to the Sonoma Valley
Regional Park in Glen Ellen, during the drought in 2014. Some water engineers
fear the lake could dry out again if the SDC water treatment plant isn't kept
in operation. (Kent Porter / Press Democrat) 2014
When
the state shut down the Sonoma Developmental Center an unintended consequence
was putting the Sonoma Valley in danger of not having enough water during an
emergency, recent Grand Jury reports concluded.
“It
was really foolish to shut down the most sustainable large resource of water
for the Valley,” said Matt Fullner, interim general manager for Valley of the
Moon Water District (VOMWD), of the closure of the SDC’s water system.
The
Sonoma County Civil Grand Jury wrote two related reports – “Water for a
Changing Future” and “Emergency Water Shortages in Sonoma Valley” -- that were
released earlier this month.
In
Water for a Changing Future, the report said: “The changes at the Sonoma
Developmental Center made sense in isolation for the Sonoma Developmental
Center, but the wider effect of these changes on water through the Valley was
not considered. The impacts of the Sonoma Developmental Center closure
illustrate the need for an improved understanding of the interdependence of all
water entities in the region.”
Colleen
Ferguson, public works director of the City of Sonoma, said the reports
“describe the situation for water in Sonoma Valley pretty well.”
Chris
Petlock, administration and finance manager at VOMWD, said that he, too, is
concerned about having water for fire emergencies as well as having drinking
water. The one area that some people might not think about when planning for
emergencies is having enough water for sanitation, Petlock said.
“My
personal concern isn’t related to drinking water,” he said. “You can’t store
enough water for sanitation” in a household. There are four people living in
his Sonoma home where he has eight rain barrels that he once used for
irrigation, but now holds on to them for sanitation, he said.
“How
many days can a household go without flushing a toilet? It’s not a pretty
scene,” he said.
The
county’s water agency, Sonoma Water, operates the pump stations that bring
water to Sonoma Valley. If those stations are compromised and unable to
operate, Sonoma Valley has no back-up system in place now that SDC’s water
system is offline.
The
Grand Jury reports, which look at the future supply of water to the Valley as
well as water necessary during emergencies, recommends that VOMWD work with
Sonoma Water, the City of Sonoma, and the California Department of General
Services to develop a regional collaboration for wastewater collection and
re-treatment, recycled water use, spreading basins for groundwater recharge and
fire suppression.
In
its recommendations the Grand Jury wants the various agencies to take “an
active role in the SDC” specific plan process by Sept. 30, and by Dec. 31 to
initiate a plan to share existing water resources. By Oct. 31 it is recommended
that VOMWD and the City of Sonoma meet to discuss a regional 2020 Urban Water
Management Plan.
Fullner
and Ferguson said that their respective agencies are actively working together
to prepare a response to the Grand Jury by the deadlines set, and get a
multi-agency cooperative plan in place.
VOMWD
is also asked to establish specific emergency water use restrictions and
communicate them to its customers by Sept. 30, and to accelerate its program
for expanding well capacity and well storage by Dec. 31.
Sonoma
INDEX-TRIBUNE
Anne Ernst - STAFF WRITER
August 18, 2020
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