To: Honorable Mayor and Members of City Council
From: Phil Brun, Utilities Director
Prepared By: Joy Eldredge, Deputy Utilities Director
TITLE:
Title
North Bay Aqueduct Alternate Intake Project ("Water+")
LABEL
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Recommendation
Adopt a resolution supporting the proposed North Bay Aqueduct Alternate Intake Project (also known as "Water+") and determining the actions authorized by this Resolution will be subject to future CEQA analysis.
Body
DISCUSSION:
The City of Napa relies on two local water supply reservoirs and water from the State Water Project ("SWP"). Depending on the year and a host of factors not limited to operational constraints, water quality, and water supply availability, the City may receive 40% - 65% or more of its annual water supplies from the SWP. This water is conveyed through the North Bay Aqueduct ("NBA"), a component of the SWP that is shared with major urban communities throughout Napa and Solano counties. These important facilities serve over 500,000 residents. The NBA, established in 1966, draws water from the Barker Slough Pumping Plant, located at the terminus of Barker Slough, a dead-end tidal channel connected to Lindsey Slough and in turn Cache Slough, and ultimately the Sacramento River.
Barker Slough is located within the Yolo Bypass-Cache Slough Complex ("YBCSC") region and has been identified as one of the last remaining refugia for endangered native fish species in the Delta. As water treatment staff are acutely aware, the NBA raw water supply generally exhibits some of the poorest water quality of all the SWP facilities and is subject to seasonal episodes of high turbidity. Unlike several of the other municipalities, City of Napa's other water sources are not in geographic proximity, therefore the ability to blend SWP water with other sources to improve the raw water quality is not currently available.
In addition to poor water quality, the NBA is periodically subject to regulatory pump...
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