Yuba Water OKs loans for OPUD, Wheatland: Funds for development of a Yuba Co. regional wastewater system

Robert Summa, Appeal-Democrat, Marysville, Calif.
·4 min read

Oct. 19—In an effort to build a regional wastewater system that connects Wheatland with Olivehurst Public Utilities District facilities to help facilitate continued growth in southern Yuba County, the Yuba Water Agency Board of Directors unanimously approved additional loans worth millions for the two entities.

The loans approved could lead to nearly $100 million in grant funding from the state to help with the massive undertaking.

Yuba Water Agency Assistant General Manager Terri Daly said the project really started "decades ago" when county leaders realized that the general plan for Yuba County would never be fulfilled until proper water and wastewater infrastructure was in place for the southern portion of the county.

"Time and time again there were efforts to get something going and we just could never really get anything going," Daly said Tuesday. "Until late in 2019 we had a meeting with Director (Brent) Hastey and Director (Doug) Lofton, at the time, and we were talking about how important this infrastructure was. And Director Hastey and Lofton made it clear that, 'We need to get this done.' And so, here we are."

Daly said "getting it done" means having a regional wastewater system in the south of the county that eventually will be a system that serves Wheatland, Olivehurst (Olivehurst Public Utilities District) and Linda County Water District.

"Of course, Linda County Water serves Marysville, so that's probably going to take 25 years or so to actually have this whole regional system," Daly said. "But we're starting with the first phase of this system, which is Wheatland connected with OPUD (Olivehurst Public Utilities District)."

Daly said the first phase of the project started "in earnest" in 2020 when the Yuba Water Agency Board of Directors "granted $7.3 million to Wheatland" and OPUD. Half of the money was "in loan" and the other half was "in grant" to do the design and engineering of their portions of the regional wastewater system. According to a staff report, the total allocated by Yuba Water to this project in grants and loans is now $7,306,473.

"Since then, Wheatland and OPUD have been working to develop their systems," Daly said.

According to Daly, the design and engineering phase is complete "individually for Wheatland and OPUD."

When searching for money from the state to help fund the project, Yuba Water hired a consultant to work with the state on a grant and put together "one unified application" for both the Wheatland and OPUD. Daly said additional funds were identified at the state level because of a "new program" designed to serve regional projects in disadvantaged communities.

Daly said the project includes three parts: the connection between Wheatland and OPUD, and a wastewater and water line that goes down Forty Mile Road.

"We're still working with the state, and it seems like they're going well beyond the $10 million," Daly said. "This project now looks like it's nearing $100 million and the state hasn't flinched yet. So they're saying, 'Yeah, we think you might be eligible for the whole thing.'"

Approved Tuesday by the board was an additional $2 million in loan funding for Wheatland to complete all the steps necessary for the state grant application and an additional $1,050,000 for OPUD to cover the costs for its current application to the state.

"In addition, we are waiting for information from the state as to whether proposed capital improvements at the OPUD wastewater treatment facilities could be covered by the grant, a step that was planned as part of the next phase of this project," a Yuba Water staff report says. "If these capital improvements can be included in this current grant application, then OPUD requests an additional $500,000 for the design of those improvements."

Wheatland City Manager Jim Goodwin thanked the board on Tuesday for the continued efforts to make a regional wastewater system a reality.

"This started as a run as fast as you can, design as fast as you can, get in the front of the line for money that might be there. It took a lot of courage and vision to start down that path, not knowing if we would get to where we want to be," Goodwin said. "... We actually are in that place that we hoped to be. There was money that was historically not available. We have interest from the state in our project and a very strong opportunity to succeed in securing $100-plus million to create this regional infrastructure in south Yuba County. Thank you for the investment you made, the commitment that the board made to reinvest in the county, in keeping that commitment is appreciated by those of us that are working hard to make projects happen."