TO: Napa County Climate Action Committee
FROM: Brian D. Bordona, Director, Napa County Planning, Building & Environmental Services
REPORT BY: Ryan Melendez, Planner II, Sustainability
SUBJECT: Presentation: Napa Sanitation District’s Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation Planning Efforts
RECOMMENDATION
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PRESENTATION: NAPA SANITATION DISTRICT’S CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION AND MITIGATION PLANNING EFFORTS
STAFF REQUEST: Receive a presentation from Andrew Damron, General Manager at the Napa Sanitation District, on their sustainability efforts.
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ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
ENVIRONMENTAL DETERMINATION: The proposed action is not a project as defined by 14 California
Code of Regulations 15378 (State CEQA Guidelines) and therefore CEQA is not applicable.
BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION
The Napa Sanitation District (NapaSan) provides wastewater collection, treatment, and disposal services to the residents and businesses in the City of Napa and surrounding unincorporated areas of Napa County. NapaSan has been serving the public since it was organized under the California Health and Safety Code in November 1945.
NapaSan is an independent special district. Special districts are a form of local government created by a local community to meet a specific need, in this case, wastewater treatment and disposal. NapaSan is governed by a five-member Board of Directors, comprising three elected officials from the City of Napa (2) and Napa County (1) and two public appointees.
Before NapaSan began serving the community in 1945, untreated sewage and stormwater drained together to the Napa River. The river became unsafe for swimming and fish die-offs were common in the summer. In 1945, residents voted to form the Napa Sanitation District and change this legacy of water pollution. NapaSan’s first treatment system focused on removal of solid materials, ranging from rags and trash to smaller floating particles. The original treatment plant was built on Imola Avenue next to the Napa River, just north of the present day Maxwell Bridge.
As the population of Napa grew and wastewater treatment technology improved, NapaSan continued to upgrade and expand its facilities. Throughout the 1960’s and into the early 1970’s the District completed the separation of sewer and stormwater pipes, greatly reducing sewage overflows during winter storms. Treatment ponds were added at the site of the current Soscol Water Recycling Facility near the airport. These ponds store the wastewater while microorganisms living in them feed on the waste.
In the late 1970’s, NapaSan moved most of its treatment operations to the current site of the Soscol Water Recycling Facility, along the Napa River just south of the Highway 29 bridge. This plant, which was a joint project with the American Canyon County Water District, offered primary and secondary treatment. The recycled water produced was used to irrigate golf courses.
Today, the Soscol Water Recycling Facility (SWRF) is a state-of-the-art wastewater treatment and water recycling plant. All treatment operations were consolidated at this plant during the late 1990’s, and the treatment facilities at the Imola plant were demolished.
Wastewater that enters the Soscol Water Recycling Facility from the City of Napa and surrounding unincorporated areas goes through a complex series of steps to remove contaminants. These steps include removal of solid, floating and dissolved materials, removal of waste by microorganisms, followed by filtration and chlorination. The water receives tertiary treatment, making it safe for discharge to the Napa River or for reuse as recycled water in irrigation. Recycled water is now used to irrigate golf courses, vineyards, parks and pastureland.
At NapaSan, the environmental vision is: “… to protect public health and the environment by collecting and treating wastewater, producing high quality recycled water, and promoting pollution prevention. But we can’t do it alone. We depend on our customers to be our partners in pollution prevention, because what goes down the drain is just as important as how the wastewater is treated at the other end. By taking care with the products you use and how you dispose of them, you can help protect your plumbing, community health, and the environment.”
Some environmental wins at NapaSan include:
- In 2001, the Soscol Plant Upgrade Phase 2 Project began. This work included the addition of secondary treatment modes, including aeration basins and secondary clarifiers. Solids treatment, including an egg-shaped anaerobic digester and dewatering system were also included.
- In 2012, NapaSan built a fats, oils, and grease (FOG) receiving station to accept the FOG generated at local food establishments. This material is pumped into the digester and significantly adds to the amount of methane gas produced that NapaSan can use to create electricity to power operations.
- In 2016, NapaSan installed a 1-megawatt photovoltaic solar power array. The system can produce 2.1 million kWh of electricity per year, which is enough power to run approximately 192 households. A 1-megawatt/2-megawatt-hour Tesla Powerback commercial battery system was also installed, which allows them to store self-produced energy at times when costs are low, and then use the stored electricity during times of the day when electricity costs are high. This has allowed NapaSan to lower its energy costs, its demand charges, and it’s climate impacts.
- Also in 2016, working with Napa County, property owners, and the Los Carneros Water District, NapaSan constructed the 5-mile Milliken-Sarco-Tulocay Recycled Water pipeline and the 9-mile Carneros pipeline to bring irrigation water to vineyards, parks, schools, and golf courses. The roughly 700 million gallons of recycled water produced each year reduces the demand for groundwater and saves potable water from being used for irrigation.
Andrew Damron is the General Manager for the Napa Sanitation District and is a Professional Engineer in the State of California. He holds a BS in Civil Engineering from University of California at Davis and a MS in Civil Engineering from Texas A&M University. He has 23 years of experience in design and project management of wastewater infrastructure projects including 14 years at Napa Sanitation District.
He will deliver a presentation about NapaSan’s climate change adaptation and mitigation planning efforts including electricity generation. NapaSan recovers resources from the wastewater stream by producing recycled water, beneficially reusing biosolids, and creating green energy on-site to power the wastewater treatment process. NapaSan’s provides sewer service to over 83,000 residents, operates the treatment plant, and maintains 270 miles of sewer main. NapaSan’s recycled water service area covers 26 square miles and provides customers with a drought-resistant water source for irrigation of parks, golf courses, schools, and vineyards.