MMWD secures Novato lot for pipeline project

A 4.5-acre site in Novato that was set to become an 87-room hotel might end up a pump station as part of a drought resiliency effort.

The Marin Municipal Water District has signed an agreement to purchase the property on Wood Hollow Drive at Redwood Boulevard from the developer, Navin LLC.

The utility announced the $4.8 million deal as it gears up to begin public outreach on an environmental study called the “atmospheric river capture” project. The initiative involves a proposed pipeline that would replenish Marin reservoirs with Sonoma County rainwater during droughts.

The purchase of the property is contingent upon clearance of an environmental impact report, an analysis mandated under the California Environmental Quality Act to clear the way for construction.

A notice of preparation is expected to be released on Feb. 24. Two public “scoping” meetings to gather public input are scheduled for March.

The update was presented at a district board meeting on Feb. 3.

“I think it’s important for people to realize we’re still very early in this project,” board president Jed Smith said at the meeting. “This is not the end. This is time to listen and contribute.”

The atmospheric river capture project is a proposed 13-mile, 36-inch pipe that would tap into an aqueduct system that runs along Highway 101, carrying water from the Russian River into Marin.

The pipe would follow San Marin Drive west and take a right turn at Novato Boulevard past Stafford Lake before turning left at Point Reyes-Petaluma Road to the Nicasio Reservoir.

The project is designed to capture rainwater during droughts to replenish the reservoir with up to about 3,800 acre-feet of water a year. An acre-foot is about 326,000 gallons of water.

As proposed, the connection point would be near the highway at San Marin Drive in Novato.

MMWD staff began looking for sites near that connection point to construct a pump station that would be needed to push the water westward. That’s when they pursued the property on Wood Hollow Drive at Redwood Boulevard.

The developer won approval in 2019 to construct the hotel on the site despite objections from neighbors over safety concerns related to a Pacific Gas & Electric Co. natural gas line that runs through the area. They also took issue with environmental impacts to nearby wetlands, among other concerns.

The hotel project was delayed by the pandemic, according to a city staff report. And then it was never built.

The Marin Municipal Water District signed the agreement for the site in December, staff said.

Lucy Croy, the utility’s water resources manager, said the purchase agreement enabled its environmental consultants and design team to begin developing specific plans for the site.

Board member Matt Samson said he appreciated that the purchase agreement was tied to approval of the project’s environmental impact report “so we have the ability to get out if there is a CEQA issue.”

District staff are still negotiating the potential use of North Marin Water District property at Stafford Lake for a second pump station.

A pump station near Stafford Lake isn’t crucial, but if the district wants to pursue proposed future phases of the pipeline, that second pump outlet would be needed. A future phase could increase replenishment of stored water to up to 8,100 acre-feet, staff said.

That second pump station, though, was not included in the initial $9.7 million design contract with Carollo Engineers, a firm in Walnut Creek. Adding that second pump station is expected to add $1.5 million to the contract.

A revised contract for $11.2 million is expected to be presented to the board soon, said Paul Sellier, water resources director.

“It’s sort of a tradeoff to build it now or later,” Sellier said. “And building it now, we think is prudent.”

Sellier said the cost to purchase the land is for pump station one, and the addition of the design and construction for pump station two is expected to increase the overall project cost. It was initially estimated at $167 million.

A “basis for design report,” which will include new cost estimates, is expected to be ready for review this spring.

Board member Larry Russell said he won’t support an increase to the design budget until he sees an updated total budget estimate.

“I need to get some numbers tied down here to even conceptually go forward,” Russell said.

Board members overall agreed that officials need to do as much outreach as possible so that the residents that would be impacted by construction are informed and have a say.

Last year, the district withdrew its plans to increase capacity of the Nicasio Reservoir after ballooning costs and intensifying friction with nearby residents who accused the agency of blindsiding them with the plan.

Smith said the agency has a responsibility of giving the community a forum to provide input, and challenged his colleagues to do what they can to rebuild trust.

“This is an extraordinarily important project for several hundred thousand people that is being brought to us with existential factors that are not in our control,” Smith said. “And we’re an agency that is here to respond to and service our community. As an agency we need to listen, and I think we can do a better job.”

The draft environmental impact report is expected to be released in the fall for public review. The final report is scheduled to be considered for approval in early 2027.

More information on the project is at bit.ly/4apnho6.