Our Water Future
Exploring Opportunities for our Water Future
To enhance our community’s water supply resiliency, Santa Rosa Water conducted a study of water supply options and developed an adaptive Water Supply Alternatives Plan for reducing vulnerability to water shortages and enhancing long-term water supply reliability.
Throughout this process, Santa Rosa Water engaged a wide range of stakeholders. The project team held four interactive community meetings to give the community opportunities to learn about this effort, ask questions, make comments, and offer ideas and suggestions. The project has also been discussed at publicly noticed meetings with the Board of Public Utilities and the City Council.
Please see the Public Meetings section below for video recordings and presentation slides from public meetings about the development of the Water Supply Alternatives Plan.
Documents:
If you’d like to learn more about the development of the Water Supply Alternatives Plan, please consider viewing these meeting recordings and presentation slide decks.
| Date | Forum | Meeting Materials |
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| Thurs., April 28, 2022 | City Council/Board of Public Utilities Liaison Subcommittee Staff presented the project concept and received input. |
Video Recording (YouTube) |
| Thurs., May 19, 2022 | Board of Public Utilities
Staff presented the project concept, received input, and requested approval to release a Request for Proposals for consultant assistance.
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| Thurs., Sept. 15, 2022 | Board of Public Utilities
Staff presented an update on the consultant selection process, final scope of work, schedule, and next steps.
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| Thurs., Oct. 13, 2022 | Subregional Wastewater Technical Advisory Committee
Staff presented information about the Santa Rosa’s water use history, water supplies, and the project purpose, goals, scope of work, and community engagement. Staff requested that the SubTAC appoint a member to serve on the project Stakeholder Group over the next year.
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| Wed., Oct. 26, 2022 | Community Webinar #1 The project team presented background information, the project purpose and approach, water supply goals, water supply options to be studied, and the criteria and methods for studying the options. |
Presentation Slides |
| Thurs., Jan. 19, 2023 |
Board of Public Utilities
The project team conducted a study session and requested input from the Board and public on the water resiliency goals, water supply options, and criteria for assessing the feasibility of the options. |
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| Wed., Jan. 25, 2023 | Community Webinar #2
The project team updated the community on the water supply resiliency goals, water supply options, and the criteria and methods for studying them. |
Presentation Slides |
| Thurs., Feb. 9, 2023 | Subregional Wastewater Technical Advisory Committee
Staff and the project team presented an update on the water supply resiliency goals, water supply options, and the criteria and methods for studying them.
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Presentation Slides |
| Mon., June 26, 2023
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Community Webinar #3
Staff and the project team updated the community on the water supply options study results, and discussed next steps, including develop portfolios (mixes) of water supply options and developing an adaptive plan for increasing the City’s water supply resiliency and reliability.
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Presentation Slides |
| Thurs., Aug. 17, 2023 |
Board of Public Utilities
The project team provided a study session and requested input from the Board and public on the results of the study of water supply options and proposed portfolios (mixes of water supply options). |
Presentation Slides |
| Mon, Aug. 28, 2023 | Community Webinar #4
The project team presented the draft study results and invited input and questions from the community.
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| Tues., Sept. 26, 2023 | City Council
The project team conducted a study session and requested input from the City Council and public on the results of the study of water supply options and proposed portfolios (mixes of water supply options).
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| Thurs., Oct. 5, 2023 | Board of Public Utilities
The project team presented the draft Water Supply Alternatives Plan to the BPU for its consideration.
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Presentation Slides |
| Tues, Oct. 24, 2023 | City Council
The project team presented the draft Water Supply Alternatives Plan to the Council for its consideration.
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In average rainfall years, Santa Rosa has sufficient water supply to meet the needs of our growing community out to at least 2045 (projecting a 30% increase in population and accounting for higher density development). For a detailed analysis, please see Santa Rosa’s Urban Water Management Plan. During extended dry periods (such as 2020-2022), Santa Rosa addresses water shortages by implementing its Water Shortage Contingency Plan.
Santa Rosa serves over 53,400 water connections, including about 49,000 connections for 175,755 residents and 4,400 connections for thousands of businesses, nonprofits, schools, public facilities, and other institutions. Each year, our community consumes about 5.6 billion gallons of water, which is used by customer of all types and by the city to flush water mains, test hydrants, repair system leaks, and fight fires. On average, the city purchases 93% of its drinking water supply from Sonoma Water (Russian River water) and produces about 7% of its drinking water from city wells. During extended dry periods, Sonoma Water may experience water shortages, which impacts Santa Rosa’s water supply.
The city also recycles and reuses wastewater from Santa Rosa, Cotati, Rohnert Park, Sebastopol, South Park Sanitation District, and portions of unincorporated Sonoma County. The wastewater goes through four stringent treatment and disinfection steps at the Santa Rosa Regional Water Reuse facility, resulting in high quality recycled water that is safe for irrigation of landscapes, pastures, agricultural crops, vegetable and fruit crops, and for industrial processes and other (non-drinking water) uses. On average, 98% of the recycled water is used each year to irrigate approximately 6,400 acres of agricultural lands and urban landscaping, and for the Geysers Recharge Project to generate clean electricity.
While the Water Supply Alternatives Plan focuses on developing new water sources, the city recognizes the importance of using existing water resources wisely. With that in mind, Santa Rosa has worked for over 30 years to achieve significant improvements in water use efficiency. As a result, Santa Rosa used 14% less water in 2020 than in 1990, despite a 57% increase in population. On a per capita basis, average water use has decreased by 46% from 1990 to 2020.
To achieve this, Santa Rosa’s Water Use Efficiency programs begin in 1991 and have been consistently funded and staffed since that time (in wet years and dry). To help water customers improve efficiency, the city offers free technical assistance, workshops, rebates, and incentives. For example, the City has supported the replacement of approximately 56,000 toilets with ultra-efficient low flow toilets and the conversion of over 3.75 million square feet of high-water use turf grass to low water use landscaping. The City has also been an early adopter of building standards, plumbing codes, and landscape requirements to ensure new development meets or exceeds strict State and local water use efficiency standards.
In addition, the city adopted a Water Waste Ordinance in 1999 to prohibit waste of water due to plumbing leaks on the customer side and due to runoff from landscape irrigation. The city closely monitors its own water distribution system for leaks and makes repairs quickly to prevent waste.
- Santa Rosa’s Urban Water Management Plan
- Santa Rosa’s Water Shortage Contingency Plan
- Santa Rosa’s Water Efficiency programs
- Santa Rosa’s recycled water programs
- Santa Rosa’s drought response
- Sonoma Water’s current water supply levels
- Sonoma Water’s drought resiliency project
If you have questions or comments about the Water Supply Alternatives Project, please feel free to contact us.
- Water Resources Team, [email protected]
- Colin Close, Senior Water Resources Planner, [email protected], 707-543-4524