News About the North Bay Water Reuse Authority

Supervisors OK funds for Coombsville pipeline design

Napa Valley Register, 11/20/12

The Napa County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved spending an additional $696,000 for constructing a recycled water pipeline in the Coombsville area.

The county will spend $650,000 on engineering work needed for relocating the proposed 4.5-mile pipeline’s pump station, and for redesigning the pipeline to a smaller size. The funds will come from the county’s half-cent sales tax for flood control and other water projects.

Deputy Public Works Director Phil Miller said the county is looking to locate the pump station on Napa State Hospital’s grounds instead of in the northwest corner of Skyline Park or on a piece of private property across the street from the park.

Once built, the pump station would deliver 1,000 to 2,000 acre-feet of recycled water from Napa Sanitation District’s plant to residents, vineyards and the Napa Valley Country Club.

The pipeline has been designed to the 2,000-acre-foot size, but the county’s uncertain if it has enough potential customers to afford that size. It’s spending money to redesign the project to the smaller, 1,000-acre-foot size.

Users of the pipeline would pay off its construction costs through annual property tax assessments. They will vote to create an assessment district in December.

The remaining $46,000 pays for some final costs associated with extending the pipeline from Napa State Hospital to Skyline Park, and for the county’s membership dues in the North Bay Water Reuse Authority.