Palermo Needs Clean Water*

Dry wells in parcels on the East side of Palermo imply that residents must have water delivered to them paid for by temporary grants obtained by EH. Response: The respondent disagrees with the finding in that it refers to the Environmental Health Division of Butte County Public Health as the administrator of grant funding, which is not the department administering grants for water delivery. The Department of Water and Resource Conservation acknowledges identified dry wells in the eastern areas of the Palermo community exist. To clarify, the Butte County Office of Emergency Management (OEM) administers the Drought Resilience and Outreach Project (DROP) grant program, which is funded by the State Water Resources Control Board. This program provides water delivery to qualified domestic well owners whose wells have gone dry due to drought, which may include residences on the east side of Palermo. Prior to the DROP program, the water delivery program was implemented by OEM through funding received from the California Department of Water Resources Small Community Drought Relief Program. The Department, in collaboration with the South Feather Water and Power Agency (SFWPA), is currently implementing the Palermo Dry Well Consolidation Project, which is a subcomponent of the Palermo Clean Water Consolidation Project (CWC), which will ultimately connect 380 additional parcels to the existing SFWPA drinking water system. The Dry Well Consolidation Project is being funded by $2.5 million of County allocated American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds for construction activities and $525,000 of California Department of Water Resources (DWR) Urban and Multi-Benefit Drought Relief (UMDR) funds for construction management. The Dry Well Consolidation Project will extend SFWPA treated drinking water infrastructure to the north east and south east areas of the Palermo community that have dry wells. Approximately 6,000 lineal feet of water infrastructure will be installed, providing an opportunity for approximately 34 parcels to connect to clean, safe drinking water. Construction of the Dry Well Consolidation Project will begin in August 2025 and will be completed by December 31, 2025. The overall Palermo CWC Project is awaiting additional funding approval from the State Water Resources Control Board (Water Board). SFWPA, in collaboration with the Department, submitted an application to the Water Board's State Revolving Loan Fund (SRF) program requesting $11.4 million in funding for multiple project phases. In addition, the County has been designated as a recipient of $2 million of Congressionally Directed Spending under the Community Grants Program through the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The EPA funding is anticipated to be made available to the County in the spring of 2026.

County Environmental Health does not provide maps with the location of reported dry wells and new well permits, thus not keeping Butte County residents informed of issues arising in their neighborhood. Response: The respondent disagrees. While the Division of Environmental Health does not provide maps of the location of reported dry wells, the quarterly Well Permit Summary reports do list communities that have reported dry wells. Well completion and dry well reports and maps are available through the California Department of Water Resources (DWR): ): Well Completion Reports https://water.ca.gov/Programs/Groundwater- Management/Wells/Well-Completion-Reports and Dry Well Reporting System https://mydrywell.water.ca.gov/report/ In addition, applicants to the OEM DROP program who indicate they have a dry well are encouraged by OEM to submit a dry well report to the DWR my dry well program

There has not been prompt, targeted communication to citizens about the status of stalled projects. Response: The respondent disagrees with this finding. The Department has conducted several public meetings and workshops for the Palermo Clean Water Consolidation Project, Palermo Drainage Master Plan Project, and the Wyandotte Creek Groundwater Sustainability Agency Regional Conjunctive Use Project. The public meetings provided status updates for each of these projects. Notification of the meetings was provided in press releases, mailed flyer notifications to residents within and around the project area's footprint, the Department's listsery, social media, and banners located at key locations within the Palermo community. In addition, status updates have been presented during public meetings to the Board of Supervisors, Water Commission, and Wyandotte Creek GSA Board of Directors. Wyandotte Basin GSA must sponsor and collaborate on projects addressing dry wells and water quality

as mandated by SB 552. Response: This finding is incorrect. This recommendation should be directed to the Wyandotte Creek GSA, which is a separate legal entity from Butte County with its own governing board. SB 552 - Drought Planning for Small Water Suppliers and Rural Communities, requires counties to prepare a Drought Plan to achieve meaningful and long-term improvements in water resilience for their residents. SB 552 requires the establishment of a Drought Task Force to facilitate proactive planning and coordination across ongoing efforts to reduce the occurrence and associated consequence of water shortage and provides suggested efforts for collaboration including coordination with Groundwater Sustainability Agencies (GSAs). SB 552 does not mandate that a GSA sponsor and collaborate on projects addressing dry wells and water quality, although a GSA may address these issues through the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act and implementation of their associated Groundwater Sustainability Plan. The Department has provided updates to the Wyandotte Creek GSA Board of Directors regarding the status of the preparation of the Drought Plan and will solicit input on short-term actions and long-term mitigation to ensure consistency between the Drought Plan and the GSAs' identified projects and management actions, as appropriate and applicable.