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New public dashboard launched

Sonoma Water has launched the public dashboard of its Five-Year Strategic Plan, an interactive, detailed snapshot of its progress in meeting the agency’s strategic objectives through 2027.

The dashboard displays how Sonoma Water is moving toward its goals across the pillars of organizational excellence, planning and infrastructure, environmental stewardship, emergency preparedness, climate resiliency and community engagement.

Sonoma Water is displaying its strategic goals and the progress made toward implementing its Strategic Plan to increase transparency and build trust with residents and other community stakeholders.

The bond measure that funded the Coyote Valley Dam also provided for the initial construction of Sonoma Water’s water supply and transmission system. The system began simply enough, with a single diversion facility called a Ranney collector at Wohler Bridge, which collected water from a depth of approximately 60 feet in the gravel next to the Russian River and pumped it through the Santa Rosa Aqueduct for 15.6 miles to storage tanks near Lake Ralphine. The Santa Rosa Aqueduct formed the backbone of the Sonoma Water’s delivery system, with all future aqueducts connecting to it.

Agency-wide Disaster Preparedness Exercise

On May 23, approximately 80 Sonoma Water staff participated in a half-day disaster preparedness exercise simulating a large-scale earthquake impacting our region. The exercise included a field-based drill to assess our ability to rapidly assess damage to our water, wastewater, and flood control infrastructure, and to stabilize these systems to prevent further disruption or damage.

This field exercise was designed to validate the agency’s new Emergency Concept of Operations. The plan has been in development for almost two years and outlines Sonoma Water’s tactical response to major emergencies that may impact critical sites, locations, or infrastructure within the water, wastewater, and flood control systems. The plan can be automatically employed after a sudden onset emergency event such as an earthquake or in anticipation of a forecasted event like a winter storm.

Sonoma Water’s Emergency Operations Center was activated to support field operations during the drill, collect and analyze information coming in from the field, develop recovery objectives based on the impacts, and practice general emergency operations center facility operations. The exercise used a detailed, multi-stage scenario, simulated calls from local agencies and the public, and a collection of impacts that were posted at approximately 50 locations throughout our infrastructure. Staff gained experience in their field or emergency operations center roles and collectively discovered the strengths and areas for further improvement within Sonoma Water’s disaster response framework.

Sanitation Rate Relief Program – Applications due July 10

Sonoma Water Board of Directors has approved a Sanitation Rate Relief Program, allocating up to $1 million for low-income property owners in the eight sanitation districts and zones managed by Sonoma Water (listed below). The new program will reduce qualified residential property owners' sanitation rates by 50% of their total annual sewer service charge.

To be eligible for the Sanitation Rate Relief Program, property owners in the eight districts or zones listed below must be billed for sewer services on their property tax bill, own their home, and live in it as their primary residence. Non-profit 501(c)(3) organizations can also apply for the program, provided that they rent 85% or more of the property to tenants who have household earnings of 75% or less of the area median family income.

Sonoma Water operates and manages Occidental County Sanitation District, Russian River County Sanitation District, Sonoma Valley County Sanitation District, and South Park County Sanitation District (Districts). 

Sonoma Water owns, operates, and manages Airport/Larkfield/Wikiup Sanitation Zone, Geyserville Sanitation Zone, Penngrove Sanitation Zone, and Sea Ranch Sanitation Zone (Zones).

Irrigation Season is Here!

Spruce up your sprinklers for the summer irrigation season to save water. Check for leaks or breaks in your irrigation system. A broken or missing sprinkler component can waste as much as 1,000 gallons of water per week! Making simple repairs can save thousands of gallons of water and save money on your water bill over the summer months.

First, turn on your irrigation system and look for sprinkler heads that do not fully pop up or are misdirected. If you find a broken head, place a flag next to it so that you can remember to fix it.

If you have a drip irrigation system, walk along the drip line, and check to make sure the drip emitters are not clogged. Typically drip emitters are quiet, so be sure to listen for any hissing sound or for the sound of water hitting the ground/soil/plant. If you can hear water jetting out of the drip line, then investigate a little further until you find the leak and either flag it to repair later or repair it by replacing the drip emitter or plugging the hole with a goof plug.

Set your irrigation controller to the automatic weather adjust mode or enter a customized schedule from the Irrigation Scheduling Tool.

Need help with your irrigation system?

·        Download a free guide to finding and fixing leaks from EPA WaterSense.

·        Check with your water provider for a free water use assessment

·        Hire a Qualified Water Efficient Landscaper

Current water supply conditions as of 6/10/2024:  

Lake Mendocino FIRO* Target Water Storage Curve: 111,000 acre-feet

Current Storage: 96,656 acre-feet (87.08% of FIRO Storage Curve)

Lake Sonoma Minor Deviation Curve: 264,000 acre-feet

Current Storage: 258,011 acre-feet (97.73% of Minor Deviation Storage Curve)

*FIRO is the acronym for Forecast Informed Reservoir Operations

Current rainfall conditions (10/1/23 –6/11/24)  

Ukiah:

Current Water Year: 38.15” which is 105% of average

Average (1894-2023 water years): 36.47"

Santa Rosa (STS):

Current Water Year: 35.61” which is 100% of average

Average (1950-2023 water years): 35.63"

Rainfall Data Source: NOAA's California Nevada River Forecast Center

Did you know?

About Harbor Seals

-Goat Rock State Beach is home to the largest concentration of harbor seals along the Sonoma County coast.

-Harbor seals use the beach to rest, warm up, molt, give birth and nurse their pups. Females give birth to one pup annually between March and June. Harbor seal pups can swim immediately after birth. 

-Females remain with their pups, feeding them rich milk for approximately 30 days and pups may double in size by the time they are weaned. 

-Following the pupping season, harbor seals molt their worn fur and spend more time ashore aiding the process of growing a new coat. 

 -Visitors to the Russian River Estuary in June and July may see the territorial displays of the males slapping their flippers on the water’s surface. 

-Visitors to the Russian River Estuary in June and July may see the territorial displays of the males slapping their flippers on the water’s surface. 

-The productive waters near the Russian River outlet provide foraging grounds for these generalist predators, which are known to feed on a variety of locally abundant fishes and cephalopods.

-Feeding near the top of the local food chain puts harbor seals in the unique position of acting as an indicator of the overall health of our ecosystem. 

-By monitoring the population of seals that call the Russian River their home, Sonoma Water’s environmental resources team is adding to our knowledge of the overall health of this valuable ecosystem.

Employment Opportunities

Water Agency Mechanic (closes 06/24/2024)