Title
[Contract] RiverArc Implementation Partner Cost Sharing for Third Pump at Pritchard Lake Diversion Facility
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FileID
File ID: 2025-01730
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Location
Location: Citywide
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Recommendation
Recommendation: Pass a Motion authorizing the City Manager or designee to: 1) execute the Agreement for Cost Sharing for Third Pump at Pritchard Lake Diversion Facility with Natomas Central Mutual Water Company and the Agreement for RiverArc Implementation Partner Cost Sharing Related to the Agreement for Cost Sharing for Third Pump at Pritchard Lake Diversion Facility with Natomas Central Mutual Water Company with Placer County Water Agency and the City of Roseville (collectively, the “Partners”); and 2) make City cost-share payments under these Agreements for one-third (1/3) of the Partners’ total share of design costs related to the incremental cost to increase the third pump capacity from 40 cfs to 60 cfs. The City’s share is estimated to be up to $200,000, to be funded from the Water Master Plan Program (I14510200, 6005).
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Contact
Contact: Michelle Carrey, Supervising Engineer, (916) 808-1438, mcarrey@cityofsacramento.org; Sherill Huun, Engineering & Water Resources Division Manager, (916) 808-1455, shuun@cityofsacramento.org; Dalia Fadl, Director, (916) 808-3765, dfadl@cityofsacramento.org; Department of Utilities
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Presenter
Presenter: None
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Attachments
Attachments:
1-Description/Analysis
2- Agreement for RiverArc Implementation Partner Cost Sharing Related to the Agreement for Cost Sharing for Third Pump at Pritchard Lake Diversion Facility
3-Agreement for Cost Sharing for Third Pump at Pritchard Lake Diversion Facility
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Description/Analysis
IssueDetail
Issue Detail: Staff recommends City Council approve two related agreements:
the Agreement for Cost Sharing for Third Pump at Pritchard Lake Diversion Facility
with Natomas Central Mutual Water Company (NCMWC), and the Agreement for RiverArc Implementation Partner Cost Sharing with Placer County Water Agency (PCWA) and the City of Roseville for the Third Pump at Pritchard Lake Diversion Facility for the RiverArc Project. The RiverArc project will help protect the American River ecosystem and improve water supply reliability for the City of Sacramento as well as the region. NCMWC is currently involved in a multi-phase levee improvement project that will result in improvements being made to the levees and related facilities around NCMWC’s service area including the Pritchard Facility. Concurrently, NCMWC intends to design and make improvements to the Pritchard Facility including installation of a 40 cubic feet per second (cfs) third pump in the empty pump bay for improved pumping efficiency and redundancy. The Partners desire to participate in the improvements being made, specifically the incremental upgrade of the third pump from a 40-cfs pump to a 60-cfs pump.
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PolicyConsiderations
Policy Considerations: City Council approval is required for agreements of $250,000 or more per City Code 3.56.090. This action is consistent with the 2040 General Plan Policy PFS-3.1 to enable the City to continue to provide reliable water services.
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EconomicImpacts
Economic Impacts: None.
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EnvironmentalConsiderations
Environmental Considerations: The proposed activity is not a project pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines Section 15378(b)(2 and 5). The activities described in this report are continuing administrative or maintenance activities, such as purchases or personnel-related activities, and administrative activities that will not result in direct or indirect physical changes on the environment. This activity is not subject to CEQA pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15060(c)(3). Appropriate project CEQA review will be completed prior to commencement of the project. The Sacramento Area Flood Control District in coordination with NCMWC have conducted CEQA review for the Pritchard Lake Diversion Facility. Additionally, the City with its RiverArc project partners are preparing an Environmental Impact Report for the RiverArc project, which will require certification prior to undertaking the project.
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Sustainability
Sustainability: The proposed project is consistent with the 2040 General Plan under policy PFS-3.5 and the Climate Action & Adaptation Plan policy A-1-5 as the City and Partners will collaborate on regional water supply solutions, which will help secure sufficient water treatment capacity.
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Commission/Committee Action
Commission/Committee Action: Not applicable.
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RationaleforRecommendation
Rationale for Recommendation: The RiverArc Project provides a foundational, regional approach to water supply security in the American River watershed. The Project seeks to strategically shift water supply diversions from the American River to the Sacramento River, using existing water supplies, to reduce reliance on the American River and increase instream flow opportunities in the Lower American River watershed.
For many years, the Partners have been collaborating with NCMWC to develop agreeable terms and conditions for the use of the Pritchard Facility for the purposes of the RiverArc Project. Upgrade of the third pump from 40 cfs to 60 cfs will improve pumping capacity and efficiency. Funding the City’s share of design costs related to the incremental upgrade cost will allow cost-effective partnering to improve the long-term reliability of water supplies.
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FinancialConsiderations
Financial Considerations: The proposed agreement is for one-third (1/3) of the total design costs, which for the City’s share, is currently estimated to be up to $200,000. Sufficient funding exists in the Water Master Plan Program (I14510200, Fund 6005) to award the agreement.
There are no General Funds allocated or planned for this project.
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LocalBusinessEnterprise
Local Business Enterprise (LBE): Not applicable.
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Background
Background:
The RiverArc Project is a long term, multi-agency regional surface water supply initiative led by the City of Sacramento, Placer County Water Agency, and City of Roseville (the “Partners”) to improve water supply reliability and reduce environmental impacts on the Lower American River. The project will ultimately shift a portion of existing and future diversions from the Lower American River to the Sacramento River through use of an existing diversion site, new conveyance facilities and pump stations, and a future RiverArc Water Treatment Plant. The Partners must secure capacity at the existing Pritchard Lake Diversion Facility, which is owned and operated by the Natomas Central Mutual Water Company (NCMWC). The Pritchard Lake facility will serve as the initial conveyance point for raw Sacramento River water for the first phase of RiverArc operations. Because NCMWC is undertaking levee and facility improvements in the near term, the Partners must participate now in the upgrade of the third pump bay (expanding its capacity from 40 cfs to 60 cfs) to preserve future diversion capacity, increase operational flexibility, and ensure the Partners’ ability to convey Sacramento River water when RiverArc facilities come online many years from now. The Partner agencies will rely on the Pritchard Lake Diversion Facility for their future surface water deliveries and therefore must cost share the necessary upgrades at Pritchard Lake. A separate Joint Use Agreement with NCMWC (currently under development) will define and secure the Partners’ long term rights to use additional Pritchard Lake facility capacity. The partners are also evaluating potential property for the future RiverArc Water Treatment Plant; however, the site has not yet been acquired.
A Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) for planning and early design of the RiverArc Project was executed in March 2016. The MOA authorized a partnership of water purveyors to plan for shared use of the NCMWC’s diversion on the Sacramento River, to build pipelines, pump stations, and a new water treatment plant for regional water supply. As of July 2025, the parties to the MOA include the City, the Placer County Water Agency, the City of Roseville, and the Sacramento County Water Agency (SCWA). Although the Sacramento County Water Agency remains a party to the RiverArc MOA, it is not participating in the Pritchard Lake upgrade effort undertaken by the City, PCWA, and the City of Roseville.
Ahead of formation of the Joint Powers Authority (JPA), the City, PCWA, and the City of Roseville are jointly participating in the third-pump upgrade while NCMWC completes its related levee and facility improvements.
For many years, the RiverArc Partners have been collaborating and working with NCMWC in good faith to develop agreeable terms and conditions for the use of their Pritchard Lake Diversion Facility for the purposes of the RiverArc Project. The Pritchard Facility was constructed in 2014 with a state-of-the-art fish cylindrical wedge wire fish screen and cleaning system, two (2) existing 60 cubic-feet-per-second (cfs) pumps and motors, welded steel discharge pipes, sediment jetting system, and control system enclosure. A third pump bay was constructed with the Pritchard Facility but has remained empty and unused, making additional pumping capacity a possibility.
Under the Agreement for RiverArc Implementation Partner Cost Sharing Related to the Agreement for Cost Sharing for Third Pump at Pritchard Lake Diversion Facility, the City will serve as the Administrative Agency, managing project accounting, coordinating invoicing and payments, and reviewing design phase invoices from the NCMWC on behalf of the Partners. The City will obtain reimbursement from the Partners for their one-third shares of design phase costs. The City’s $200,000 contribution represents its one-third portion of the Partners’ $600,000 not-to-exceed design phase obligation. These costs apply only to design. If the Partners choose to advance the project to construction, a Go Forward Notice and separate approval by each governing body is required. DOU would then return to City Council for consideration and authorization of construction phase funding.
The primary purposes of the RiverArc Project are: (1) to divert water through existing, or potentially upgraded, intake(s) from the Sacramento River to offset water diverted from the American River, deliver that water through new raw water pipelines to a new regional water treatment plant, and distribute the treated surface water through new and existing pipelines to the Parties; (2) alleviate pressure on the lower American River ecosystem; and (3) to recharge the groundwater storage basin via “direct” or “in lieu” recharge in wet years, so that groundwater can be used in years when surface water supplies are insufficient to meet the needs of the Sacramento region and potentially other areas in northern California.
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