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Cotati staff warn wells aging and repairs are budget‑dependent; council presses for proactive funding
Summary
Public works and city staff said Cotati operates three municipal wells, two of which have been taken offline for service or repairs; councilmembers urged shifting from reactive to proactive asset management and to fund a renewal/replacement master plan via the upcoming rate study.
City public works staff told the Cotati City Council that the municipal water system needs proactive capital funding and that two of three municipal wells are currently down for service.
Public Works Director Craig (first name only in transcript) and staff described recent failures and the limits of a reactive replacement approach. Craig said the city owns three municipal wells and that two had recently been taken offline for service or repair; a submersible pump failure at Well 3 and maintenance at another well required temporary purchases of more expensive water from Sonoma Water. “I’m personally done with being in reactive mode and I want to switch to being in a proactive mode,” Craig said, describing planned renewal/replacement master plans that would allow the city to predict equipment life cycles and schedule capital replacements before failures occur.
City Manager Damien and public works staff said the water and sewer enterprises are balanced for operations but do not have sufficient reserves for significant capital needs; staff are preparing a water rate study the council will review in a future meeting. Council members expressed concern that delaying essential filter media replacement and well repairs increases both cost and operational risk. One councilmember asked staff to move near‑term well filter/media and pump work out of “on hold” status and into funded capital project lists when the council reviews the utility rate study.
Staff recommended completing condition assessments and renewal/replacement master plans that would generate prioritized capital improvement program lists for the water and sewer systems. Staff said that once the city moves to a funded, proactive mode the asset‑management system now in place will support predictive maintenance rather than reactive rebuilds.
No formal votes were taken at the special meeting; council directed staff to return with rate‑study results and capital funding options to shift the utilities toward planned replacement schedules.
