Board Of Public Utilities

Santa Rosa Water is requesting approval to amend its existing service contract with Agilent Technologies to add maintenance coverage for a Gas Chromatograph/Mass Spectrometer that tests water and wastewater for volatile organic compounds, increasing the cost by $13,240.80 for a total not to exceed $104,400.90. The lab needs this specialized maintenance to stay compliant with federal and state regulations, and consolidating all advanced instruments under one Agilent service agreement will improve reliability and reduce downtime since Agilent is the original equipment manufacturer with Bay Area technicians who can respond quickly. The cost is already budgeted in the Water Department's fiscal year 2026-27 budget with no impact to the General Fund.

The Board of Public Utilities is being asked to recommend that City Council approve $22.5 million in state grant funding to consolidate nine small, independent water systems serving approximately 1,377 residents in mobile home parks and other small communities into Santa Rosa's municipal water system. The consolidation is necessary because these nine systems have water quality problems including arsenic and other contaminants exceeding safe drinking levels, and the small systems lack the technical and financial capacity to properly treat the water themselves. The project is fully funded through a state grant program with no cost to the city, and it will include installing new infrastructure, meters, fire protection equipment, and either removing or abandoning the existing contaminated wells.

Santa Rosa Water is seeking approval to spend an additional $325,550 to upgrade its CCTV inspection software (ITpipes) to a cloud-based platform and extend the service contract through July 31, 2031, bringing the total contract value to $569,550. The upgrade is necessary because the current software loses security support on July 31, 2026, and moving to cloud-based service is standard industry practice that will reduce the city's IT maintenance costs and provide better security and functionality. The funding is already budgeted as an operating expense in the Water Department's 2026-27 budget with no impact to the General Fund.

The Board of Public Utilities is being asked to approve buying a 1-acre property at 3875 Skyfarm Drive for $600,000 to relocate Reservoir 5, which was damaged in the 2017 Tubbs fire and no longer meets seismic safety standards or water quality requirements. The new location at the highest elevation in the service area will improve water pressure reliability during emergencies and peak demand, enhance fire protection, and allow space for co-located equipment, while the existing tank has been limited to 20% capacity since the fire. Funding comes from the Water Enterprise Fund with no impact to the General Fund, and the purchase agreement has already been negotiated within the terms previously authorized by the Board.