Sonoma Water details multi‑million‑dollar repairs and seismic upgrades serving Santa Rosa

Kent Guilfied, director of engineering for Sonoma Water, briefed the Santa Rosa Board of Public Utilities on the agency’s current water‑transmission capital projects and planning efforts, outlining work meant to improve reliability and prepare for droughts, earthquakes and other hazards.

The presentation described rehabilitation of three Santa Rosa Plain production wells, ongoing and planned tank recoating and foundation work across the transmission system, replacement of aging cathodic protection systems on major aqueducts, seismic vulnerability assessments and upgrades at booster stations, and a multiphase modernization of disinfection systems. Guilfied said the work is intended to maintain “reliability and resiliency of our water transmission system that’s serving your community.”

Why it matters: Sonoma Water supplies wholesale water to Santa Rosa and other local contractors; the projects are aimed at ensuring the system can deliver during droughts or when parts of the aqueduct are taken out of service for repair. Several projects also respond to changing regulations and to findings from recent inspections and regional resilience studies.

Project highlights included: - Wells: Guilfied said Sonoma Water is rehabilitating three Santa Rosa Plain wells that are kept for exceptional needs such as drought. Staff secured a $6,900,000 drought resiliency grant to help rebuild two of the plain wells and to add future aquifer storage and recovery capability for winter recharge. He said one well (Occidental Road) has a new well installed and top‑side work is out for advertisement for 2025; the Sebastopol Road well is under construction and is expected to have production capability and pilot testing next summer.

- Tank program: Sonoma Water is advancing a 10‑year, $80,000,000 tank rehabilitation program covering 18 storage tanks with about 128,000,000 gallons of storage. Guilfied said the Castagna tank (about 12 million gallons) recently returned to service after replacing coal‑tar lining with epoxy, and that an 18‑million‑gallon tank will be taken largely out of service in 2025 for recoating and foundation retrofit to address an identified seismic deficiency.

- Cathodic protection and boosters: Passive cathodic protection systems on several aqueducts are being replaced with impressed current systems in phased work (a near phase to advertise in February and a second phase in 2026). At the Wilford booster station (along the Petaluma aqueduct near Rohnert Park), Sonoma Water plans electrical upgrades, seismic work and a redundant pump set; construction advertisement is currently scheduled for 2026.

- Electrical and procurement constraints: Guilfied and other presenters described widespread delays in obtaining electrical gear and other specialized equipment; one pump station project has been delayed more than two years due to procurement timing. Guilfied said, “Some supply chain challenges still remain for some equipment, but particularly the electrical gear.”

- Planning and resilience: The agency is developing a comprehensive water transmission master plan (consultant: Corolla Engineers) to be completed in the 2026–27 fiscal year, and a seismic resilience study (Infratera) that included more than 50 cone penetration tests across aqueduct routes to map liquefaction risks. Sonoma Water is coordinating with regional studies by Jacobs Engineering to align planning for flood, seismic and hydraulic performance.

- Regulatory inspections: Guilfied reported that the Department of Drinking Water completed a two‑day sanitary survey in September and that DDW found no deficiencies in pumps, operations, monitoring or operator compliance; only a few minor items will be addressed. “We were pleased to see that there were no deficiency findings,” he said.

Board questions and responses: Board members asked about delivery and staffing risks, public access to capital improvement program (CIP) documents, security at tank sites, leak detection and the supply outlook for new development. - On delivery, Guilfied said the agency faces the same supply‑chain and staffing challenges that affect many public works organizations and that budget decisions and staff turnover have affected schedules. “We share some of the challenges in getting projects, delivered and moved along,” he said. - On CIP transparency, Guilfied said Sonoma Water produces an annual CIP and distributes it to advisory committees; he offered to follow up with the board to resolve any access issues. - On tank site security, Guilfied said the sanitary survey findings that touched security were mainly about fencing and that discussion of surveillance had occurred but would need separate consideration. - On leaks and repairs, he said transmission mains are more resilient than distribution mains and sizable leaks are prioritized for repair; some repairs can take weeks or months to plan and execute. - On supply, Guilfied said regional water sales remain well below historical highs and that Sonoma Water has capacity to meet foreseeable demand; he added that lower sales raise per‑unit rates because fixed costs are spread over lower volumes.

What’s next: Guilfied said Sonoma Water will present financial and rate recommendations to water contractors and advisory committees in the coming months as staff finalize the finance analysis and master plan work. The board did not take formal action on the presentation; Sonoma Water staff offered follow‑up briefings and tours for board members.

Ending: The board discussion reinforced concerns about procurement timelines and project delivery, and Sonoma Water said it will continue coordination with the city on right‑of‑way and easement needs, with the master plan and resilience work slated to inform capital priorities in future budget cycles.