Santa Rosa Water details CIP projects: pump station upgrades, trunk rehab, McMinn storm drain among top priorities

Santa Rosa Water staff outlined capital improvement program highlights for FY25–26 during the board study session, emphasizing projects that returned to normal funding levels under the newly adopted rate structure.

Liz Hanley, Supervising Engineer of Asset Management, reviewed site-specific projects and cost estimates. For water pump stations in Oakmont, the department plans upgrades at Station 13 (estimated $3.4 million) and Station 14 (estimated $3.2 million) to increase pump capacity for improved fire flow, add electrical upgrades, new roofs, security lighting and fencing; design is planned in year 1 with construction in year 2 or 3.

Hanley described a groundwater program project (Project ID 2486) to study conversion of existing emergency wells to production (Lehi, Peter Springs and Carly wells), estimated at $4.5 million with design in year 1 and construction targeted for year 3 or later.

The Myers Drive Water and Sewer Main Replacement (Project ID 0166) will upsize an undersized 1952-era water main and replace structurally deficient sewer mains; total estimated project cost is approximately $3.9 million (about $1.7 million for water improvements and $2.2 million for sewer), with a $25,000 design-only allocation for potential storm drain improvements.

Llano Trunk Rehabilitation Phase 2 (Project ID 2425) was identified as a priority in the 2020 Sewer Master Plan. Staff said the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has indicated it would provide engineering design, environmental mitigation, and potentially construction services, with an anticipated 75% Corps contribution and 25% city cost share. The total project estimate is $21.8 million; scoping is underway and construction timing is contingent on Corps approvals and funding.

Hanley also highlighted the McMinn Avenue storm drain replacement (Project ID 1601), a top stormwater expenditure estimated at $9.7 million. The project would install about 1,900 linear feet of storm drain pipe and related structures between Sebastopol Road and Roseland Creek to address recurring flooding; it also includes concurrent sewer and water replacements for fire flow and structural issues and will evaluate a potential large-scale regional Low Impact Development (LID) offset bank.

Regional projects described include creation of a subregional mitigation bank (Project ID 2046) to provide California tiger salamander and wetland mitigation credits on roughly 100 acres of the city’s Kelly Farm parcel (estimated cost $7.1 million, at 90% design), Delta Pond standby generator and Laguna Treatment Plant boiler replacements (Project ID 2330, estimated $4.5 million and design in year 1) and a reclamation valve replacement project (Project ID 2446, estimated $2.3 million) to repair reuse-system valves.

Dan Hennessy, Director of Transportation and Public Works, described project delivery status and funding availability across the three enterprise funds. He said about $120 million in available funding is tied to projects in design or planned for design; roughly 25 projects across the three funds are scheduled to bid within the next 15 months, accounting for about $78 million of that total. Hennessy noted more than half of the regional fund is currently encumbered in construction contracts and that many projects in the project pool have remaining funding needs that would not be addressed in the coming fiscal year.

Hanley said schedules and scopes remain subject to permitting, asset condition inspections, and external approvals, and several projects include environmental mitigation and multi-agency coordination.