To: The Board of Directors of the Sonoma County Water Agency
Department or Agency Name(s): Sonoma County Water Agency
Staff Name and Phone Number: Grant Davis 547-1911, David Royall 521-1892
Vote Requirement: 4/5th
Supervisorial District(s): First
Title:
Title
Receive Report and Make Findings to Continue Emergency Work to Stabilize Dangerous Conditions Resulting from a Pipeline Break within the Sonoma Valley County Sanitation District’s Reclamation System.
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Recommended Actions:
Recommended action
Receive Report and Make Findings to Continue Emergency Work to Stabilize Dangerous Conditions Resulting from a Pipeline Break within the Sonoma Valley County Sanitation District’s Reclamation System (First District) (4/5th Vote Required)
end
Executive Summary:
This item requests that the Board of Directors for the Sonoma County Water Agency (Sonoma Water), receive a report on emergency actions taken to stabilize hazardous conditions resulting from a pipeline break within the Sonoma Valley County Sanitation District’s Reclamation System and continue to suspend competitive bidding requirements.
Discussion:
On December 31, 2025, staff at the Sonoma Valley County Sanitation District’s Treatment Plant identified a leak in the District’s reclamation pipeline. Staff located and isolated the broken section and stopped discharges from the pipeline. Staff estimated that the broken reclamation pipe had released about 700,000 gallons of treated reclaimed water into Schell Slough in Sonoma Valley.
As described in the Board’s January 6, 2026, emergency declaration, the pipeline break occurred in an area subject to tidal inundation and adjacent to a levee, creating challenging site conditions, increasing the risk of erosion and instability, and limiting what repair activities could commence before inundated areas became dry enough to permit access.
On February 27, 2026, a Contract Change Request/Potential Change Order was issued to W. M. Lyles Co. to begin emergency repair activities on the broken pipeline. W. M. Lyles Co. is the project contractor for the in-progress SVCSD Influent/Effluent Pumps and Piping Upgrade Project.
This was an efficient emergency contracting strategy because W. M. Lyles Co. was already mobilized to the Sonoma Valley Treatment Plant just north of the break on the District's reclamation pipeline, possessed the appropriate contractor's license classification for the emergency work, and had directly relevant experience with the types of piping systems, materials, and site conditions involved in the repair.
Utilizing the existing contract vehicle allowed the District to engage a qualified contractor without the delay of a separate procurement, consistent with the urgency established by the Board's emergency declaration.
On March 3, 2026, the previously inundated areas around the pipeline break were dry and stable enough to allow W. M. Lyles Co. to commence exploratory excavation around the sinkhole and begin exposing the broken section of reclamation pipeline. On March 4, 2026, W. M. Lyles Co.’s excavation activities exposed a compromised coupling joint that was the source of at least one leak.
W. M. Lyles Co. is procuring a replacement coupler and will install it and pressure test the reclamation line to validate the effectiveness of the repair and verify that no other leaks are present before District staff place the reclamation line back into service.
District staff have been in contact with recycled water users that could be impacted by the limited availability of reclaimed water and will update the users as progress is being made.
Prior Board Actions:
3/03/2026: Report and Make Findings to Continue Emergency Work to Stabilize Dangerous Conditions Resulting from a Pipeline Break within the Sonoma Valley County Sanitation District’s Reclamation System.
2/10/2026: Report and Make Findings to Continue Emergency Work to Stabilize Dangerous Conditions Resulting from a Pipeline Break within the Sonoma Valley County Sanitation District’s Reclamation System.
1/27/2026: Report and Make Findings to Continue Emergency Work to Stabilize Dangerous Conditions Resulting from a Pipeline Break within the Sonoma Valley County Sanitation District’s Reclamation System.
1/06/2026: Resolution Making Findings of an Emergency Need to Perform Work to Stabilize hazardous conditions resulting from a pipeline break in the reclamation distribution system
Fiscal Summary
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Narrative Explanation of Fiscal Impacts:
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Narrative Explanation of Staffing Impacts (If Required):
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Attachments:
None.
Related Items “On File” with the Clerk of the Board:
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