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Davis-Woodland Water Supply Project

Woodland-Davis Clean Water Agency, California

The Davis Woodland Water Supply Project (DWWSP) is one of the largest and most complex water supply projects to be contracted via alternative delivery in California. For two decades, West Yost has assisted the cities of Davis and Woodland with technical feasibility studies, analyses of alternatives to meet their community needs. West Yost has served as the lead engineering firm for the initial planning efforts, water rights acquisition, technical studies, program development, and ultimately as the Owner’s Representative for the Design-Build-Operate (DBO) contract procurement. West Yost provided preliminary design for the new regional facilities and led the efforts to secure state revolving fund (SRF) funding and state grants since the formation of the Woodland-Davis Clean Water Agency (Agency), a Joint Powers Authority, in 2009.

This regional project will replace deteriorating groundwater supplies with safe, more reliable surface water supplies from the Sacramento River. The project will serve more than two-thirds of the urban population of Yolo County, California. Project facilities include a jointly-owned and operated intake on the Sacramento River with Reclamation District 2035, a raw water pipeline, a Regional Water Treatment Facility, and distribution pipelines delivering treated water to Woodland, Davis, and UC Davis.

The following are highlights of the project’s successes:

  • An innovative solution to both water supply concerns and wastewater discharge compliance issues
  • DBO delivery method that reduced overall costs for ratepayers
  • Agricultural/urban collaboration on new river intake that resulted in cost savings and significant environmental benefits
  • Aquifer storage and recovery (ASR) integration into the project as an innovative water storage solution
  • Advanced treatment facilities that meets today’s regulatory standards, increases the project’s state of readiness for future regulations, and incorporates energy efficiency requirements
  • Extensive public outreach that resulted in community acceptance of the project
  • Acquisition of SRF and grant funding for more than 98% of the project, which saved the rate payers over $130 million

This project touches virtually every aspect of water resource planning and program implementation, including surface water, groundwater, wastewater, aquifer storage and recovery, water right acquisition, and much more. This project demonstrates the interconnected nature of water supply planning, including connections between sources (groundwater/surface water), water rights and reliability, water and wastewater, municipalities and their customers, project needs and funding programs, and many others.

The Project has been completed with the highest quality while staying within budget and finishing several months ahead of schedule… I know that my fellow members of the Agency Board and Woodland City Council join me in expressing our satisfaction with the outcome of the effort by the Project team in the implementation of this Project.

William L. Marble

Vice Chair, Woodland-Davis Clean Water Agency Board, City Council Member, City of Woodland