Since 2001 the City of Calistoga has leased a small stretch of land near its water treatment plant to Markham Vineyards, and has renewed the lease annually.

On Tuesday, the City Council unanimously did it again — only this time, the renewal consisted of an amended lease agreement and only one thing has changed — the city has removed the previous reference to supplying the vineyard with water for irrigation use.

In the original 2001 agreement, according to the City of Calistoga agricultural lease with Markham, “water necessary for the irrigation of the grapevines to be grown on the premises during the term of this lease shall be available to the tenant from the facilities of the city.”

It goes on to outline that costs of repairs related to irrigation water systems will be paid by Markham. It also said water shall not be exported.

The property related to the lease is above the water treatment plant and the exporting prohibition prevents Markham from using city water to irrigate another field of vines growing below the water treatment plant.

During a recent tour of the water system by The Weekly Calistogan, it appeared the upper Markham land leased from the city indeed included a drip irrigation system, but officials accompanying this newspaper said they “don’t believe the system is ever used, except for frost protection.”

When asked Tuesday by a member of the public, Kurt Becker, whether the city has ever supplied irrigation water to Markham, both Public Works Director Dan Takasugi and City Manager Jim McCann indicated no water has been supplied to Markham — “not to my knowledge,” each replied.

Still, to their knowledge, the city provided water to a pond owned by Markham just yards away from the city’s water treatment plant, and on a one time basis, Markham did receive water into that pond since it was laden with polymer meant to make the water clearer. At the time, the city needed to repair the tank where the water was treated to clean it up. Polymers attach to dirt and other substances in water to make it clearer. State environmental law prohibits polymer-laden water from being dumped into stream and rivers.

In this case, the water was given to Markham and delivered into the nearby pond. From that pond, through an elaborate irrigation system, it was used to irrigate the lower Markham vineyard.

In a suit filed against the City of Calistoga for the alleged illegal use of city water to irrigate agriculture, plaintiff Grant Reynolds says he can prove, through satellite photos, that the pond gets water from somewhere — he suspects it’s from city facilities, which would be in violation of the city’s water state water permits.

The city denies serving water to the lower Markham fields.

One more item missing from the amended lease agreement — a case of Markham wine.

In an extension of the original May 9, 2001 lease for 2008, a letter signed by City Manager Jim McCann informed Markham chief financial officer David Flanary of the extension with one additional cost, “This extension includes a case of Markham wine which can be picked up by one of our staff.”

The city staff report for Tuesday’s amended lease agreement also states that “It has been brought to staff’s attention that the water provision in the 2001 agreement is not useful and should be deleted. ... All other provisions remain in place.”

No mention was made either of a case of Markham wine.

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