{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"KZYX News","title":"Fort Bragg to purchase property for three more reservoirs","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":389,"description":"December 1, 2022, Sarah Reith — The Fort Bragg City Council voted unanimously this week to purchase over 580 acres from the Mendocino Coast Recreation and Park District, for the purpose of building three 45-acre-foot reservoirs. That’s about 14.7 million gallons each, which is also the capacity of the currently existing Summers Lane reservoir. John Smith, Fort Bragg’s Operations Manager, reported to the Council that, even with that reservoir and the desalination plant, the city, which sells water to nearby communities, is likely to be dependent on stored water for quite some time. The city relies solely on surface water from the Noyo River and two spring-fed sources, Newman Gulch and Waterfall Gulch. Smith said production from the gulches is way down, and dry conditions are likely to continue.\r\n\r\n“Newman Gulch and Waterfall Gulch, as I've mentioned before, have been decreasing steadily in the last ten years,” he told the Council. “Most recently in the last five years, Waterfall has decreased by 67%, which is a lot. And Newman, as well, 42% down. Where we do gain some ground in the reverse osmosis world, we’re losing ground elsewhere.”\r\n\r\nThe city is now in the process of purchasing the six parcels in the property, which, including escrow, could take 4-6 weeks. The maximum amount the city agreed to pay for the land is just over $2.4 million. Though the reservoirs will be covered to reduce evaporation and algae growth, Smith plans to make accommodations for helicopters to pull water for fire suppression. He’s optimistic about finding grant funding to build solar panel covers and a substation for each reservoir, but Smith was careful not to raise the council’s expectations for that particular benefit. “The reservoir solar cover,” he specified; “that’s not a promise. That’s a hope, and something that we will definitely be pursuing.”\r\n\r\nIn a brief interview after the meeting, Smith said that when he looked into the solar project in 2015, the estimated cost was $7-8...","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/xZpAumwbhFUpJUYcwaQ1-q6snzOyqAm13l7cW6AWPCM/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS9mMzkz/NjAwNjc2OWMyZmFk/YWY2YTdmYjI5M2Mz/YWMxNy5qcGc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}