Services and District History
Services Provided
LCWD facilitates the delivery of recycled water for irrigation from NapaSan to residents and customers within its recycled water assessment district boundaries. The LCWD itself is larger than the assessment. Not all property owners chose to be part of the recycle water assessment district. At this time no additions to the assessment district are possible.
Additional irrigation water and drinking water is provided to parcels within the District through private wells and creek diversions not under the jurisdiction of LCWD.
Service Area of the Recycle Water Assessment District
LCWD’s service area is smaller than its boundaries. Of the district’s total 5,700 acres and 263 parcels within its boundaries, 107 agricultural and residential parcels totaling approximately 4,127 acres of comprise the Assessment District and committed territory of service for the existing recycle water infrastructure. Service Area Map
History of the LCWD
Authors Note: John Stewart (1949 – 2018) was the leading force served as behind the LCWD recycle water project. John served as President of the LCWD from 2005 - 2017. John along with other Board Members worked very hard at every stage of the multi-year process from the initial survey, funding, design, and construction management.
The Los Carneros Water District (District) is a small, all volunteer District located in Napa with a single purpose - to provide recycled water service to the Carneros community. The purpose of the project was to provide the service area (about 5,000 acres) with a reliable water supply to maintain and expand the area’s crop base, offset surface water use during the summer months to make more potable water available, provide a more consistent water quality for irrigation, and to increase production for residential users’ wells by reducing agricultural well pumping to eliminate the need for homeowners to truck in potable water supplies. The recycled water project was planned, designed, and constructed with all the same team members: LCWD, Napa Sanitation District, and Carollo Engineers. The project was planned in 2010/2011, Assessed for Prop 218 in 2012, designed in 2013/2014, constructed in 2015, and began receiving water in 2016.
Key milestones
1978 Obtain legal status as a special water district
1983 Contract with Napa San for 2000 AF
2008 Initial grant applications by Erica Ahmann completed
2009 Second assessment passed (25$/acre) for the Feasibility Study
2010-11 Initial Feasibility Study was completed, Engineer’s cost estimate , Prop 218 vote of property owners, 137 parcels owners responded with a response rate of 94% who were interested in recycle water.
2012-13 Final assessment calculated and passed to increase size of the District, construct the pipeline across the Napa River, and construct the recycle pipeline throughout the LCWD to 107 properties.
2013 Corolla Engineering retained to design the system engineering at a cost $480,000
2015 April 16, 2015 groundbreaking for of the recycle water pipeline
2016 July 21, 2016 construction completion celebration for the recycle water pipeline
Construction Facts: The construction contract awarded to JBM construction was $10,630,000, Corolla Engineering was $1,012,000, Napa River Crossing 1$,1,200,000, Napa Sanitation District construction management $125,000, and other Environmental, NBS, Legal work, etc. was approximately $140,000 for a total construction cost of $14,268,000.
Funding Facts: The following grants and loans for the feasibility and design work for the project overtime totaled approximately $18,350,000: SWRCB - $10,000,000 loan at 1% for 30 years, SWRCB – Prop 1 - $4,100,000 grant, DWR/ABAG – Prop 84 - $2,000,000 grant, two Bureau of Reclamation grants totaling $1,600,000, and two Napa County Measure A grants totaling $150,000, NRCS $500,000 grant. This allowed a final assessment of $110/Acre for about 9 years.
Operation Facts: LCWD entered into an Agreement with Napa Sanitation District for the recycled water supply (winter and summer water) and to take ownership of the project once completed. LCWD continues to oversee the operation of the recycle water system and coordinate with property owners until all 107 assessment district property owners have connected.
