The skies have been unkind to Napa County, now in the midst of a severe drought.

Prudent planning by city and county officials offers a silver lining to Napa’s water troubles, but still, locals would prefer the cloud.

After January of 2008, meteorologist Mike Pigott said, Napa County “didn’t have a single month last year where you guys at least met normal rainfall.”

Napa County received 22.4 inches of rain in 2008, according to Pigott, a meteorologist with Accuweather, which provides forecasts to newspapers and other media outlets.

Average yearly rainfall is 31.21 inches, he said.

Forecasts remain dry into 2009. Compared to January last year, when Napa County received half its yearly rainfall, showers in recent weeks sprinkled Napa with only about one-tenth of an inch of water.

“It doesn’t look like you’re going to get anything we would call ‘drought busting,’” Pigott said. “At best, there might be a few showers here and there, spotty showers, but there is no serious rain in the forecast at least in the next couple weeks.”

The water crisis is plaguing nearly every county in California. With Napa County dependent on the State Water Project for much of its supply, these statewide conditions may hurt even more than the local dry weather.

Drought conditions left water levels at Sierra Nevada reservoirs below normal this year, draining resources available to California counties. Currently, the state is  promising to deliver only 15 percent of this year’s contracted amounts to cities in Napa County — down from 35 percent last year, 60 percent the year before, and 100 percent before that.

American Canyon could feel the most parched, as it depends on the state for almost all of its water. The city also has a contract to buy about $500,000 worth of water from Vallejo.

“We’re still hopeful we’re going to get rain and that number’s going to come up,” said Felix Riesenberg, a county water resources engineer. “But it’s been drier than anyone in the water world is comfortable with.”

The Napa County Flood Control and Water Conservation District, as part of a larger coalition, sued the Department of Water Resources in July arguing the county should get 100 percent of its promised allocation because it helps provide state water through Putah Creek.

It is unclear when a ruling in the case will be issued.

Plenty of reserves

Still, Napa is better off than other counties, as it has a number of local reservoirs to supplement resources from the state, Riesenberg said.

The city of Napa receives about 35 percent of its water from Lake Hennessey, its primary reservoir, according to Phil Brun, general manager of the city’s water department. The reservoir is at 70 percent capacity, he said, an improvement over water levels at this time last year.

That level will rise, Brun said, noting that Napa County is only “at the very beginning of the rain season and runoff season.”

Last year, the reservoir recovered from 54 percent full to 95 percent, Brun said.

Hennessey holds 31,000 acre-feet of water. Napans use 15,500 acre-feet a year, according to Brun.

The Milliken reservoir — which also supplies water to the city of Napa — is only about 35 percent full, Brun said, but is small enough that it will likely fill up to 100 percent capacity. Milliken holds 14,000 acre-feet of water.

 “From the city of Napa’s perspective, we’re in a very good position,” he said.

The city has maximized its use of state water and purchased supplemental water over the years, Brun said, allowing it to keep water levels in local reservoirs high in case of drought. Brun said the city will employ a similar strategy this year.

In December, the Napa City Council authorized Brun to buy about 20 percent of the city’s required annual water supply from a state drought fund, if the water is available. The purchase could cost about $1.2 million.

Napa and American Canyon will also spend $128,000 for a consultant to help find additional water sellers.

“I feel pretty confident that we’re going to not have mandatory conservation measures this year, assuming we continue to have or have a typical or slightly less than typical winter,” Brun said. “If we don’t get any rain, then that changes the equation.”

Dry in Calistoga

Calistoga will also be dipping into its local reservoir this year. The city uses about 800 acre-feet of water a year, according to Warren Schenstrom, Calistoga Water Systems superintendent. About 30 to 40 percent of that comes from the Kimball reservoir, which holds 315 acre-feet of water and is located near the base of Mount St. Helena.

The reservoir is down to 50 acre-feet, he said.

“Typically, the reservoir is full by the end of December, so we are concerned, but … at this point that is very convenient for us because right now we’re updating the treatment plant with Kimball and we wouldn’t be able to process water anyway,” Schenstrom said.

“Talk to me in late March, and if the reservoir is still at 50 acre-feet, I’m going to be pulling at my collar a little bit,” he said.

Even under the most dire circumstances, Calistoga is still in good shape, Schenstrom said.

“Due to the foresight of previous city planners, they were astute enough to purchase more water than the city is able to use in any given year, and in that respect we are able to get through the dry years very comfortably,” he said.

Yountville relies almost exclusively on Rector reservoir, owned by the state and operated by the California Veterans Home at Yountville.

The reservoir is at 65 percent capacity, said Myke Praul, Yountville’s director of public works. Though water levels are about 10 percent lower than normal, Praul said, “We feel very stable in that resource.”

St. Helena is the only city in Napa County without a contract for State Water Project water. Instead, St. Helena relies on Bell Canyon Reservoir for its water and also has a contract with the city of Napa, Riesenberg said.

The city already has water conservation measure in place regarding landscaping and gardens. St. Helena public works officials did not return phone calls seeking comment.

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