Monte Rio/Villa Grande Waste Water Solutions Pilot Project - Community Meeting
On Nov. 29, 2023, a community meeting was held at the Monte Rio Community Center to re-introduce the Monte Rio/Villa Grande Wastewater Solutions Pilot Project, including an update on the feasibility study. This meeting was a collective effort by the Climate Action & Resiliency Division of the County of Sonoma’s Administrator’s Office, Supervisorial District 5, Permit Sonoma, Sonoma Water, the North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board (Regional Water Board) and the Lower Russian River Wastewater Citizen’s Advisory Group (LRR CAG).
The meeting was facilitated by MIG, Inc., included interactive live polling, and a substantial question and answer session in front of a resource panel. The resource panel included Permit Sonoma, the Regional Water Board, Brelje & Race Consulting, and the Climate Action & Resiliency Division’s Clean Water Ombudsman.
With presentations from Supervisor Hopkins and Michael Thompson (Ret. Asst. Gen. Mngr. of Sonoma Water), this meeting started with the history, background and context of the project, including an acknowledgement about the critical role of the Russian River to the local community, its health, social identity and economy, and an overview about water quality concerns and new and changing septic system regulations. Brelje & Race Consulting Engineers presented its update on the feasibility study and shared their work to date. After the question-and-answer session with the resource panel, the Ombudsman shared informational resources and announced the start of regular office hours.
To meet with the Ombudsman, you can either make an appointment or simply walk in during scheduled office hours. Ombudsman office hours for January and February of 2024 are as follows:
Access the meeting handouts and related materials using the following links:
- Video recording
- Slide deck
- Meeting summary and details
- Meeting agenda (English/Español)
- Russian River Wastewater Solutions Pilot Project (Flyer)
- Study area map
- Fact sheet about the LRR CAG (English/Español)
- FAQs (septic regulations and the Pilot Project) (English/Español)