The City of Petaluma is working to enhance our ability to supplement our water supply with local groundwater when needed. Some short- and long-term situations that can limit our supply of water or require more water than we typically receive include:
- Infrastructure failures such as broken pipes
- Extreme drought
- Large-scale disasters such as wildfires
- Several situations occurring at different locations throughout the City at the same time (such as fires, infrastructure failures) which would increase demand beyond our capacity to maintain sufficient flow rates and pressures.
The City is working to be able to provide more of our water from local sources so that we can supply our needs when necessary. Currently, our city is mostly reliant on surface water purchased and imported from the Russian River system from our water supplier, Sonoma Water. The proposed well at Oak Hill is one of several ways we plan to achieve our goal of increasing our local water supply.
The new groundwater well at Oak Hill would:
- Provide an additional water supply and pressure point for fire protection in the western portion in the city.
- Provide an additional groundwater supply well to our existing municipal well field
- Strengthen the City’s local water supply on the west side of Petaluma within Zone 1 of the City’s distribution system. Currently, most city-owned groundwater wells are located on the north and east sides of town.
Our region is currently experiencing extreme drought conditions that are expected to continue into the foreseeable future. Water Conservation has become a way of life for California residents, including for us in Petaluma, and our community has demonstrated outstanding efforts to conserve water through the drought. The proposed well at Oak Hill will increase our local water supply, make us more resilient in the face of water adversity, and assist in meeting our allotment restrictions from our water supplier during periods of drought.
The City of Petaluma, through its agreement with Sonoma Water, is committed to providing at least 40% of our water needs locally. CLICK HERE for additional information about the need for and benefits of this project.