The services the Water Department provides include raw water collection, water treatment, and distribution of the treated water for domestic and commercial use for Fort Bragg. 

The Water Enterprise meets and reports regulatory agencies' water treatment levels, provides for water conservation, provides for maintenance and construction of capital improvements, reviews new development projects, assists with public education, and engages in data collection and analysis.

 Strategic Goals and Objectives 

• Ensure an adequate supply of high-quality drinking water to meet existing and future customer needs.
• Manage the City's water sources in a manner that is protective of both environmental and human health.
• Improve the reliability of the City's water supply, treatment and distribution system through on-going maintenance and replacement of aging infrastructure. 
• Seek grant funding and other low-cost financing for capital projects. 
• Operate the City's water system in an efficient and cost-effective manner and establish fair and reasonable utility rates. 

The City's Water System Includes

The Water Treatment Plant, a 45-Acre-Foot reservoir, and a small desalination plant. 

The Water Treatment Plant is located within the City’s Corporation Yard at 31301 Cedar Street in Fort Bragg.

Water supply comes from three (3) surface water sources.

Two are spring fed; sourced from Waterfall Gulch and Newman Gulch. These two surface diversions flow via gravity through the raw water pipeline to the water treatment plant.

The third is a pump drawing water from the Noyo River. The Noyo River diversion includes a wet well at the Noyo River and a pump station that is a separate conduit that carries raw water to the treatment plant.

There are four (4) Finished Water Tanks: three (3) 1.5-million-gallon tanks are located at the Corporation Yard, and (1) one 3-million-gallon tank located on Highway 20 just outside the City Limits.

Water is supplied to customers primarily via gravity flow through the water Distribution System.

Gravity delivery uses water service pressures controlled by water surface elevations in the water treatment plant storage.

One area of the City referred to as the East Fort Bragg Pressure Zone (EFBPZ) is located where the elevations are too high to be served by gravity. The EFBPZ is served by a pump station located on Willow Street.

The 45-Acre-Foot Reservoir located at the end of Summers Lane provides emergency water storage during low flow conditions. The reservoir draws and stores water from Waterfall Gulch.

A Small Desalination Plant has been operational since the fall of 2021. The desalination intake is the same as the Noyo River pump. Brackish water in the river occurring during low flows and high ocean tides is pumped to a storage tank at the water treatment plant. The desalination plant treats this brackish water before discharge to the raw water ponds where it is sent to the treatment plant for further processing.

Backflow Prevention

A state-mandated requirement to protect public water systems from backflow. Backflow occurs when contaminated water is accidentally "pulled or pushed back" into the public water system and distributed to unknowing customers. This can be a serious threat to public health and is one of the most common causes of water-related illnesses in the United States. 

In order to keep all water customers safe, the City of Fort Bragg is required by California Administrative Code Title 17, § 7583-7605 and by the City of Fort Bragg Municipal Code, § 14.05.060 to take certain measures to prevent backflow. One of these measures is to ensure that all services that present a risk of backflow have properly installed a Reduced Pressure Zone backflow prevention assembly on any domestic and/or irrigation lines and a Double Check Detector Assembly for the fire service line. 

What is a backflow prevention assembly and why do I need one?

A backflow prevention assembly prevents water in the customer's piping system from flowing backward into the distribution system. Causes of backflow include "back pressure," which is created by pumps or elevated piping, and "backsiphonage," which is created by a momentary reduction or loss of normal system pressure in the watermain due to instances such as a main break, fire fighting needs, or unexpected large water demands. In California, installation and maintenance of backflow prevention assemblies is the responsibility of the customer.

Testing

The City of Fort Bragg requires all backflow devices to be tested annually by a certified backflow prevention tester and repaired if necessary. During backflow testing, a certified plumber will open and close valves of the backflow prevention assembly to make sure it is functioning correctly. Each year, notice letters and certified tester resource lists are sent to customers with backflow prevention assembly to notify them of the testing deadline.