Clearlake council approves $400,000 CDBG planning application for water infrastructure study

The Clearlake City Council on Feb. 29 voted unanimously to authorize staff to apply for up to $400,000 from the 2023–24 state Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Mitigation, Resilient Planning and Public Services Program for water infrastructure planning.

City Manager told the council the city qualifies as disadvantaged or severely disadvantaged and identified concerns about high water rates, aging infrastructure and a lack of coordinated planning between water systems and the city's land-use and capital projects. The manager said the grant would fund data gathering and analysis — policies and procedures, asset inventories, water rights and contract entitlements, regulatory permits, high-level engineering analysis and possibly hydraulic modeling — to inform coordinated planning rather than operational control of any water provider.

During public comment, Keith A. Hart, identifying himself as representing Golden State Water Company, asked why the city was pursuing water planning if the city 'is not in the water business' and requested clarification on how the funds would be used. Later a Zoom commenter, John Prime, asked, "Why are the water companies being taken over?" The City Manager and mayor clarified the proposal is limited to planning and research and is not intended to take over private water companies.

Council Member Kramer moved to approve Resolution 2024-09; Vice Mayor Overton seconded. The deputy clerk announced the motion passed unanimously.

Next steps: staff will prepare and submit the planning grant application and return to council if further approvals or a change in scope are needed.