Boonville Water And Wastewater Treatment Update #2
There is a clean drinking water and fire suppression issue in Boonville
Going all the way back to the 1970’s, contamination was detected near water wells in Boonville. In 2015 water testing detected coliform bacteria and high levels of nitrates in 21 of 23 residential wells tested in central Boonville. In 2019, a fire devastated downtown Boonville, burning Pic N’ Pay and Lizzby’s Restaurant to the ground as well as several dwellings behind the building. Many were displaced and some also lost both their businesses AND their homes! The Anderson Valley Fire Department did not have sufficient water during the incident. The Fire Chief also reports that the hydrants at the elementary school are out of service due to a lack of water supply and the volume at the high school is inadequate for fire suppression. The safety of our community’s children is at risk!
There is a solution to the problem
The State of California has made providing clean drinking water to all its residents a top priority. In never before seen available grant funding, the Anderson Valley Community Services District (AVCSD) has been working with the Water Board (State Water Resources Control Board) to develop a drinking water system for central Boonville. It is estimated to cost approximately 16 million dollars and the construction and installation would be completely paid for by these grants and, in addition, now they will even pay for the residential lateral hook-ups. Engineers have been working to identify a cost-effective approach to solve the problem, and it involves siting several clusters of wells around Boonville. As most of these are existing wells the water table would not be affected as usage would not necessarily increase. Growth will continue to be limited by current County of Mendocino zoning requirements and the state will only fund a system with an “overcapacity” of 10%, also requiring fire hydrants be installed every 500 feet under the grants. Current private wells could be kept for irrigation, provided a backflow preventer is installed. The water in Boonville would finally be brought up to safe drinking water and fire suppression standards.
How can you help?
Please become informed about the Boonville Drinking Water project by:
Reading our FAQs at avcsd.org/watersewer.php
Attending a Water Projects Committee meeting held online at 10:30 AM on the first Thursday of every month via Zoom; sign up for announcements by emailing your request to water.avcsd@gmail.com to be added to the email list;
Attending an informational water/wastewater community meeting to discuss: the status of the project, the health consequences of NO water treatment in the Anderson Valley, the hydrology of Boonville, and the impacts of a municipal system (these will be announced on the AVCSD website or the AV Advertiser);
Contacting an AVCSD Board member to discuss the project
The State funds will no longer be available if the AVCSD doesn’t act soon.
The Anderson Valley Community Services District Board
- Val Hanelt Chair (valhanelt@me.com)
- François Christen (fogrover@gmail.com)
- Kathleen McKenna (kmckenna@pacific.net)
- Larry Mailliard (mmmyard@pacific.net)
- Paul Soderman (psoderman@gmail.com)
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