Responses to the Sonoma County Water Coalition questionnaire have been received from Will Pier (WP) and Valerie Brown (VB) in the 1st District. These two candidates are in the run-off.

  1.   Please outline your concept of a sustainable water policy for Sonoma County, which would guarantee clean water for future generations?

(WP)
a. Budget for a complete assessment survey of rechargeable aquifers within each populated region of the County. This would continue and be an extension of the survey work being done in Sonoma Valley and the Santa Rosa Plain.

b. Determine the location of recharge zones for good quality aquifers in each region, and create conservation easements or fee title for preservation of these properties through the Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District, or by some other mechanism.

c. Create water retention swales and ponds within these preserved recharge zones to enhance the regeneration of our aquifers during winter rains. Create local transport system of treated wastewater to these sites.

d. Once each aquifer is fully recharged (variable, depending on geologic conditions) allow for monitored water withdrawals from these aquifers, not to exceed the average recharge rate during fall and spring months, and not to exceed an established water use maximum per household or unit within that defined region.

e. Encourage water conservation for all people, especially agriculture. Allow for composting and incinerating toilets, gray water separation and reuse for irrigation, rain water collection in dry wells, and require all housing and commercial developments to have no surface runoff by installing retention swales and ponds, and permeable driving and walking surfaces. Redirect storm water runoff from roads into retention/settling ponds, and then onto agricultural lands and wetlands. Create incentives for dry vineyard farming, underground drip systems for orchards, and year round cover crops.

f. Discontinue selling water to Marin County.

g. Plan for population growth that can be sustained by the regional aquifers, not Lake Mendocino or Lake Sonoma, reservoirs which will be full of sediments in 50 to 100 years.

h. Before the County can wean itself from the Russian River, the infrastructure for regional aquifer recharge and water delivery systems needs to be planned and created. This could take 5 to 10 years depending on the conditions of specific aquifers and the availability of recharge water. During this same period, the County should develop the concept of regional population sustainability by giving presentations, classes, workshops for the citizens of each region, and by creating incentives and economic benefits for developers and users who aggressively conserve water and energy.

(VB) The Sonoma County General Plan 2020 begins the process for evaluating our water resources, groundwater, surface water, conservation and recycled water. Prior to this General Plan, I don’t think the county had a true concept of sustainability -- we had avoided groundwater studies and relied on designation of water zones with vague terms applied to them. Kleinfelder had done a pilot study on three areas in Sonoma County which provided scientific data which reinforced our need to be more diligent about water resources. The groundwater study in Sonoma Valley is the beginning of an important process wherein, by collecting data on wells and using the USGS study, we will be able to balance use of surface water with groundwater -- recharging our aquifer during winter months, (water banking), for use during summer, dry months. This study is being used as a model for the Santa Rosa Plain Groundwater Study.

  2.   If you support comprehensive water management planning in Sonoma County, how would you implement that policy as County Supervisor? Assuming you do support such a policy, how soon after election would you propose a groundwater ordinance, and what would such an ordinance look like?

(WP)
a. See answers 1a through 1e above, and, because water is a resource that belongs to the public trust, I would move to require all landowners (including cities and the County) to maintain logs of their wells, submitting an annual report for volume and fluctuating levels, and require that all extraction pumps in surface flow streams be licensed through the County, have established maximum draws for each month, and monthly monitoring during the low flow period (May through October) by a SCWA agent.

b. Within 3 months of serving as a supervisor, I would move to create a ground water ordinance that would incorporate all of 1 and 2a, plus, place temporary limitations on population growth (development) for certain regions showing less than sustainable water levels in that region’s aquifers.

(VB) We currently have a non-regulatory groundwater management plan under AB3030 which was organized from the ground up -- and has the stamp of approval from all the local stakeholders. This should be the model -- working collaboratively toward achieving a goal of sustainability. I actually do not see an ordinance being put in place until after the Santa Rosa Plain Study.

 3.   In February 2005, the State Water Resources Control Board directed SCWA to provide "a detailed plan of water conservation efforts which will result in no increase in Russian River diversions." What methods would you support to ensure "no increase in Russian River diversions?"

(WP)
See answers to questions 1 and 2, and I would move to not allow any Russian River diversions, except in the instance of a community or regional water shortage emergency. My water conservation plan is based on using and recharging regional aquifers that can sustain a finite population. Once that limit is reached, development will be temporarily halted for that region until testing of the ground water supply shows there is enough water for at least 10 years to allow for limited growth. The Russian River needs to be left alone, with diversions allowed only during peak flows to help prevent damage to homes and loss of life, and for retention ponds at recharge zones.

(VB) We currently have a number of 'reuse' projects: North Sonoma County Agricultural Reuse Project, Sonoma Valley Recycled Water Project, North San Pablo Bay Reuse Project, Napa Salt March Project and the Russian River County Sanitation District Irrigation Reliability and Beneficial Reuse Project -- in addition to recycled water systems at most of our facilities. I believe we have one of the most aggressive reuse policies in the state and our water contractors have gone beyond what most have done using standard BMP’s. That said, we are still focusing on City centered growth -- and currently do not have the water capacity to fulfill the ABAG requirements for development. We have asked for additional acre/feet and I believe we will be able to comply with the SWRCB with regard to conservation.

 4.   What water-production and distribution policies should the County develop to both curb the growth of greenhouse emissions and eventually reduce them to levels that natural systems can handle?

(WP)
a. Power the Sonoma County Water Agency’s well pumps for extraction of water from the regional aquifers by photo voltaic cell displays that will generate more electrical energy than needed, making it possible to either sell the excess to PG&E, or direct it to some other County facility.

b. Retain the existing aqueduct system, installing a new line from Warm Springs Dam to the existing intakes at Wohler Bridge, through which emergency supplies of water could be distributed by gravity flow to regions with depleted aquifers. For how long? During low flow months only? Again, this is a short-term plan, as Lake Sonoma’s capacity will diminish 80% to 90% over the next 100 years due to sediment deposition. Aquifer recharge is the best sustainable water management plan.

(VB) The Sonoma County Water Agency is taking a quite forward thinking stance in looking at the reuse of water which would function within a building for energy efficiency and ultimately take that facility off the grid. In addition, both the County vehicle pool and the SCWA have added hybrid vehicles, and we also plan to incorporate more plug-in vehicles. We are also promoting the greater use of xeriscape landscaping and the use of smart controllers (both sensor and weather) to control our irrigations systems based on where we live and the weather prevailing. As a significant percentage of our water usage is outside irrigation, we are promoting management practices to assure landscaping and irrigation use best practices. If we could produce carbon free water we would not be producing GHG. We have the right ideas -- it is getting the funding to implement and move our agenda forward.

  5.   SCWA staff and consultants have stated explicitly that water diverted from the Eel River through the Potter Valley Project to the Russian River is not needed to supply agency customers in the long term. What is your position on this diversion?

(WP) The Eel River needs all of its water. It is an unwise policy to divert water from any other watershed just because you want to guarantee growth in your own.

(VB) This issue is very complex affecting both Sonoma and Mendocino counties. Diversion is needed for fish, agriculture, recreation and urban uses, not part of water agency delivery. I have serious concerns about stopping diversion.

 6.   Will you support wastewater reuse for irrigation only if it does not result in incidental runoff? What methods would you support to prevent irrigation runoff?

(WP)
a. Yes, for irrigation of golf courses and other applications where non-edible vegetation exists, secondary treated water is ok, but not for crops ingested by animals for the production of meat. There are pharmaceutical pollutants in this water that need to be filtered out either through the earth, or through new, high tech filtration systems that are at present too expensive. Some of this wastewater in Sonoma Valley can be used to help dissolve and flush out the salt deposits in the abandoned evaporate ponds in the North Bay estuaries.

b. To prevent irrigation runoff, any development site needs to be excavated to create retention swales and ponds that will allow any surface flow to collect and percolate through the soil. These swales and ponds need to be planted with native riparian vegetation to enhance the hydrologic process and create habitat.

(VB) The regulations are already in place, existing permits do not allow runoff. But we certainly do need to work to maximize water reuse - recycled water uses a quarter the energy as delivery of new potable supplies.

 7.  Do you support the concept of building large regional wastewater treatment systems in environmentally-sensitive areas, such as those proposed to serve Camp Meeker, Occidental, and Guerneville, as opposed to more local solutions? What are your ideas for resolving the Subregional Wastewater Treatment Plant, Laguna, and Russian River winter discharge and water quality problems?

(WP) See 1e. In these areas it is imperative that composting and incinerating toilets be allowed to deal with the treatment of human waste. Using these technologies eliminates the need for wastewater treatment plants, and will save millions of gallons of water. Sonoma County should create an affordable exchange of flush toilets for composting and incinerating toilets. The building codes should be changed to allow for separate, outhouse type structures (complete with a crescent moon window and a painting of a smiling coho).

(VB) I believe local solutions are the best solutions and we should absolutely consider them. Our long term efforts should be to have zero discharge with maximum conservation and reuse.

 8.  As County Supervisor what would be your position on continuing to build housing and commercial development in flood plains?

(WP) None of these structures should be allowed in flood plains; only agricultural structures like sheds or barns should be permitted, with the owners understanding of the risks involved. The County needs to update its flood plain maps at least every twenty years to account for flood plain changes resulting from climate and development changes.

(VB) I do not support building on flood plains. We have adopted a city-centered growth policy -- avoiding the flood plains. Also, development policies should include requirements for flood control drainage review and design.

 9.   What is your position on allowing gravel mining to continue in and beside the Russian River?

(WP) This mining industry has so damaged the riparian zones of the Russian River that it should be discontinued. The deep pits of the Middle Reach threaten miles of the River with massive head cutting upstream and huge aggradations downstream. Gravel can be imported by barges from the gold mine tailings dredged from the Sacramento River shipping channel and other aggraded sites at a reasonable cost, with far less damaging results.

(VB) There is no simple answer -- aggregate resources are threatened in Sonoma County. It is very hard to approve gravel mining anywhere -- which puts the onus on trucking in aggregate at a huge cost to our transportation system and quality of life. Currently the County has an ARM plan in place and we have taken the lead in preserving land along the river, e.g. Hansen Properties. I believe we all have a commitment to the long-term sustainability of the Russian River.

 10.   Do you support changes in the governance and mandate of the Sonoma County Water Agency SCWA? If so, what changes would you support?

(WP)
a. Yes. I would like to see SCWA be governed by a separate, elected Board of Directors, with the hope that knowledgeable people would serve the County’s best water interests. They would serve four-year terms. There should be one Director elected from each sub-watershed of the Russian River, with the exception of three from the Santa Rosa Creek watershed, two each from the Sonoma Creek and the Petaluma River watersheds, and three from all coastal watersheds, defined as three distinct hydrographic groups. Allow for two supervisors to serve on this Board on a rotating schedule.

b. The mandate of the SCWA needs to change from serving an unlimited County population with Russian River water, to serving limited, regional populations with sustainable water supplies from local aquifers that can be recharged year round by reusing treated wastewater, redirecting urban storm water, and diverting specific high flows from local streams. As stated above, transitioning to this new, sustainable, water supply system will take years of planning and implementation. It can be done in stages, using one regional aquifer as a pilot project, and then adding others as the systems are constructed.

(VB) Of course I’d look at proposals for change. If the cities and counties are working together and contributing to the long term sustainability of our water resources and not worried about their own local agenda -- it would be positive. The problem of course is getting all the cities to buy in and contribute assets -- what a novel idea.