Novato Waterline Spring 2026

In This Newsletter

Message From Tony Williams, General Manager
Novato Boulevard Improvements
Important Information About Your Water Rates
Cash for Grass
Mulch Rebate
Pool Cover Rebate
Water Smart Savings Program
Low-Income Rate Assistance (LIRA)
North Marin Water District’s New Demonstration Garden
Home Sweet Habitat: How to Turn Your Garden into a Pollinator’s Paradise
Marin Municipal Water District Atmospheric River Capture (ARC) Project
Don’t Miss the Next Issue

Message From Tony Williams, General Manager

Strategic Planning

In October 2025, the North Marin Water District (District) Board of Directors approved the District’s 2025-2030 Strategic Plan (Strategic Plan). The approval marked the culmination of a robust plan development process that included customer, staff and Director surveys and interviews, review of peer agencies, stakeholder engagement, review of new and pending state and federal regulations, and synthesis of collected data. The Strategic Plan includes six primary goals: Strengthen Infrastructure Resilience; Foster Organizational Excellence, Ensure a Resilient Water Supply, Enhance Customer Understanding and Engagement, Optimize Operational Performance Readiness, and Maintain Effective and Transparent Governance. Each of these clear goals has four to seven practical and attainable actions with target milestones that serve as a principal roadmap for the next five years of District administration and operations. As we make progress on individual actions, staff will clearly indicate progress on the Board of Directors agenda items using a new “Alignment with Strategic Plan” section in staff reports, and I will present annual progress reports each fall.

For more information about the Strategic Plan, see here.

Water System Master Planning

The District operates and maintains an extensive water distribution system to ensure there is always water available for human consumption and firefighting purposes. The key components of the distribution system include storage tanks, pump stations, 353 miles of water pipelines, and thousands of fire hydrants connected to the water pipes throughout the community. Treated water enters the system through two very different sources: the Stafford Treatment Plant (STP), which treats water from Stafford Lake; and North Marin Aqueduct, which transmits Russian River water purchased from Sonoma County Water Agency (Sonoma Water). To maintain water pressure and move this supply water from the lower elevations to higher elevations, the District operates 26 pump stations. Planning, prioritizing, and implementing repairs, replacement, or improvements is accomplished under the District’s Capital Improvement Program (CIP).

In January, the Board of Directors accepted the 2025 Novato Water System Master Plan (Master Plan) after over a year of coordination, planning, and analysis of the water system to establish a long-term CIP strategy. The Master Plan development and planned implementation of capital projects directly address several actions under Strategic Plan Goal 1: Strengthen Infrastructure Resilience, including strategic actions 1.1 and 1.2.

The 2025 Master Plan was a slight departure from the previous 45+ years of the District’s water system master planning in that it included a comprehensive assessment of the water system resilience against natural hazards as well as an overall asset risk and resilience assessment. These assessments identified the “backbone” parts of the system whose absence or unavailability would significantly degrade the District’s ability to deliver water to the community. The backbone includes:

Local and Regional water supply (Stafford Lake and the Russian River), including the North Marin Aqueduct and the Stafford Treatment Plant.
Nine key water storage tanks.
The Lynwood and San Marin pump stations.
The water distribution pipeline network.

The Master Plan demonstrates that the District has been effective with its Capital Improvement program (CIP), but needs to increase the total length of pipeline replacement each year, which translates to additional capital expenditures in the future.

For more information about the Master Plan, see here.

The highlighted plans above were not developed to simply “check a box” or satisfy an obscure federal or state requirement. Both of these Plans establish a meaningful path forward for the District to follow to ensure the best quality services are delivered to our current customers and for future generations. Other critical plans that we expect to complete this calendar year include the District’s Emergency Response Plan and the Urban Water Management Plan.

Novato Boulevard Improvements

The City of Novato’s long-awaited improvements on Novato Blvd. will begin this summer. The North Marin Water District (NMWD) has partnered with the City, along with the Novato Sanitary District, to construct improvements to the water facilities on Novato Blvd. as part of the City-led project. The three agencies will advertise and bid the project together, so that one contractor will be constructing NMWD’s water improvements, NSD’s sewer improvements, and the City’s roadway improvements concurrently with the goal of decreasing the duration of construction along the corridor and minimizing community disruption.

For more information on the City’s project, click here.

Important Information About Your Water Rates

New water rates will go into effect on July 1, 2026. The increases are needed to cover rising operating costs, fund critical infrastructure projects, and include a pass-through from our main supplier, Sonoma Water. Following a detailed rate study and public review process in 2024, the Board accepted the study’s findings as the basis for the rate adjustments through 2026/2027. Through this process, proposed increases were recommended to ensure continued water reliability, system improvements, and financial stability.

The new rates include a “pass-through” of Sonoma Water’s 9.42% rate increase, which applies to the Tier 1 commodity charge. The other water use rates will increase 6% as approved by the Board in 2024.

For complete details on the new rates, view the Novato rates webpage here.

Pay Your Bills Online

Pay your bills online, sign up for autopay and paperless billing. Click here.

Cash for Grass

With the incentive now up to $1.50 per square foot of lawn area if you replace it with qualified low-water-use planting (up to $1,500 per single-family dwelling), we are encouraging customers to replace their lawn with pollinator-friendly low-water-use gardens.

To learn more about the program and to see if your project qualifies, click here.

Mulch Rebate

Don’t forget to mulch this year. Mulching your landscape helps reduce evaporation and cool the soil, reducing the water requirements of the plants. As a part of the District’s Water Smart Landscape Efficiency Rebate Program, mulch purchase and installation can be rebated at 50% of the cost of approved mulch materials up to $200.

Please call 415-761-8944 or email [email protected] for details on participation. Please remember to follow the Novato Fire Department’s guide for mulch application in proximity to your house.

Pool Cover Rebate

North Marin Water District is currently offering a rebate for pool covers. The rebate covers 50% of the cost, up to $75. Apply online once you have made the purchase and installation here.

Water Smart Savings Program

North Marin Water District wants to help customers use water efficiently. That’s why we’ve put all of our water-saving promotions under one umbrella with new and easier online forms for most programs to help encourage your participation.

Call 415-761-8944 for program participation details or visit here.

Water Smart Home Survey

This free service includes thorough indoor and outdoor water efficiency checks. Virtual surveys or over-the-phone guidance can also be offered.

High-Efficiency Clothes Washer Rebate

Rebates are available to customers when they purchase a qualifying high-efficiency clothes washer.

Rainwater Catchment Rebate

Rebate for the collection and storage of rainwater.

High-Efficiency Toilet Rebate

Customers who replace an old water-guzzling toilet with a high-efficiency toilet may be eligible for a rebate.

Weather-Based Irrigation Controller Rebate

Rebate for weather-based irrigation controllers that use weather data and site information, such as plant type and sprinkler system output, to automatically adjust watering times and frequency.

Greywater Rebate

Rebate available for the installation of qualified greywater systems.

Low-Income Rate Assistance (LIRA)

This program is available to eligible low-income customers and provides a credit on a two-month billing cycle of $30 per bill or $180 per year. A direct water customer who has a single-family residential account and is eligible for PG&E’s income-based CARE program is eligible for the District’s LIRA Program. Once approved, the discount would apply to your next billing cycle. To request an application or for further information, call our billing department at 415-897-4133 or click here.

North Marin Water District’s New Demonstration Garden

The District would like to invite you to visit our new low-water-use Demonstration Garden located at our remodeled administration building (999 Rush Creek Place, Novato).

Created to provide examples of beautiful low-water-use plants that thrive in our Novato climate, we hope it inspires you to choose plants that flourish with less water for your own landscape.

The Demonstration Garden is drip-irrigated, using recycled water and rainwater (when available), and a weather-based irrigation controller automatically adjusts the irrigation schedule based on the current weather. Creating a garden that is both water-smart and beautiful is easier than you may think. Click here for more information.

Home Sweet Habitat: How to Turn Your Garden into a Pollinator's Paradise

In Novato, our yards are more than just spaces for flowers. They provide homes for the bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds that keep our region looking beautiful.

Choosing water-wise plants can support these pollinators in our Mediterranean climate year-round, from the rainy winters to the long, dry summers. The Water Smart Plant Picker from the Sonoma-Marin Saving Water Partnership and the Arboretum All-Stars Plant Database from UC Davis are great places to start. For inspiration, Bloom! California and UC Marin Master Gardeners offer a range of ideas for every garden style and pollinator.

Whether you’re starting with seeds or converting an entire turf area, you can make an impact at any scale. Water Smart Plant Labels make it easy to spot water-wise plants at local nurseries, and Marin Water’s Watershed Approach to Landscaping book offers guidance for building larger pollinator corridors.

With these tools and ideas, you can turn any yard into a vibrant, pollinator-friendly garden. Every plant you choose helps protect the wildlife that makes Novato our beloved home. Come check out pollinator plants at our new demonstration and consider replacing your lawn with a pollinator paradise and potentially receive a rebate (see Cash for Grass program).

Marin Municipal Water District Atmospheric River Capture (ARC) Project

The Marin Municipal Water District (Marin Water), which serves central and southern Marin, is currently working on the preliminary design and environmental review of pipeline and related facilities that would move excess winter Russian River flows to storage reservoirs in Marin, providing critical drought resiliency. This project includes proposed pipeline installations from Redwood Blvd through the San Marin Drive and Novato Blvd, west of the San Marin Drive corridors. If you are in areas potentially affected by this proposed project or its drought resiliency benefits, we encourage you to review further information on Marin Water’s ARC Project at their project webpage here.