Uncategorized Archives - North Marin Water District

(Posted May 18, 2023) We continue to assess the landslide along Redwood Blvd. near Olompali State Park and potential impacts to the North Marin Aqueduct. Our current assessments have not found significant issues and we have resumed operation of the aqueduct to accommodate demands as of late-April. We have special operational and communications protocols in place with partner agencies in case there is an immediate need to shut down the pipeline. Further assessments are planned and in the event that we find impacts to the aqueduct that would affect operation, we will update through a website news story. We appreciate the effort from our customer to curtail outdoor irrigation back in April during the early stages of the emergency when the aqueduct was shut-off and water for the service area was solely supplied by Stafford Lake Treatment Plant.

(Posted May 5, 2023)

The District proposes rate increases for the Novato service area for fiscal year 2023-2024 (FY 23/24). If approved at the public hearing on June 20, 2023, the new rates will go into effect on July 1, 2023.

For more details about the public hearing and the proposed rate increases see the links below. Also, look for a detailed flyer in the mail.

The key reasons that a 9.5% rate increase for Novato Water and a 5.3% rate increase for Recycled Water is needed are described below:

Rising costs to purchase imported water. The District typically imports 75% of its water from Sonoma County Water Agency. The cost of purchasing imported water accounts for 30% of the budget and the water supplier has increased its rates of purchased water by 12.51% in FY 23/24.
Increased investment in water facilities. The District must continue to invest in facility upgrades and replacements, including water supply enhancement projects, with an approximate cost of $4 million per year. These investments benefit the system’s fire protection, water supply, and aging infrastructure and are essential to properly maintain the District’s$132 million system of pipelines, pumps, Stafford Dam, treatment plants, valves, hydrants, laboratory, monitoring systems, buildings, and more.
Impact of inflation on all costs. The proposed revenue increase is designed to meet all the costs of providing water service. This includes purchasing, treating, and delivering safe, high-quality, reliable water to your home or business without fail.

Rate comparison

Our proposed rate increase is the lowest in Marin County and at the median for water agencies around the Bay Area region.

More Information About Proposed Rate Changes

(Posted May 5, 2023)

The District proposes rate increases for the West Marin Water service area for fiscal year 2023-2024. If approved at the public hearing on June 20, 2023, the new rates will go into effect on July 1, 2023.

For more details about the public hearing and the proposed rate increases see the links below.

The key reasons that a 6% rate increase is needed are described below:

Continued investment in water facilities. The District must continue to make investments in facility upgrades and replacements that will benefit the West Marin Water System’s fire protection, water supply, and aging infrastructure. This will help to properly maintain the service area’s treatment plant, 26 miles of pipeline, 7 pump stations, 13 tanks, 4 wells, 172 hydrants, monitoring systems, and more.
Impact of inflation on all costs. The proposed revenue increase is designed to meet all the costs of providing water service. This includes purchasing, treating, and delivering safe, high-quality, reliable water to your home or business without fail.

More Information About Proposed Rate Changes

(Posted May 2, 2023) This year, rainfall has been well above average and, all reservoirs supplying Novato are at capacity. Governor Newsome has declared an end to the State-wide drought provisions. Novato water customers did a great job conserving during the three-year drought period by continually conserving an average of 20%.

On April 4, 2023, the District Board rescinded Emergency Water Conservation Ordinance No. 41. This action immediately eliminated non-essential water use restrictions and ended the drought surcharge. However, we are reminding customers that common-sense water waste prohibitions remain in place permanently. We encourage you to participate in the many programs the District offers to help you use water more efficiently.

Even though this drought period has ended, drought conditions could return in the future. We continue aggressively pursuing efforts to enhance our water supplies locally and regionally.

For more post drought information click here.

(Posted April 18, 2023) Backflow prevention assembly testing is being performed between April 1 and September 1 on residential and commercial services in the North Marin Water District. The testing is being performed by third party certified backflow testers contracted by the District. These contractors can show a District ID upon request. For any questions regarding the District backflow prevention program, please contact the backflow department at 415-761-8947 or backflow@nmwd.com.

(Posted April 13, 2023) Thank you to our Novato customers who responded to our request to temporarily avoid using irrigation or sprinklers in the wake of the recent Redwood Blvd landslide emergency. Our testing and assessments appear to show that the landslide along Redwood Blvd. near Olompali State Park has not impacted the North Marin Aqueduct. Although additional assessments are planned, we are confident that we can resume partial operation of the aqueduct to accommodate demands. Customer water use for irrigation and sprinklers can resume as normal on Friday, April 14th. It is still an active landslide and conditions could change. In the event that we need to extend the prohibition on irrigation and sprinkler use, we will post a news story to that effect.