Cloverdale wants a seat at the table as a new, landowner-run water district takes shape on its doorstep — and it just picked who will sit in it.
The City Council voted 4-0 on June 25 to authorize Councilmember Andrés Marquez to represent Cloverdale in talks over the proposed Alexander Valley Water District, the would-be agency that would govern much of the groundwater basin around Cloverdale and Healdsburg. Marquez’s job, for now, is to gather information, work with regional partners and help the council settle on an official position before the question lands back in front of the county’s formation watchdog in August.
Key takeaways
- Cloverdale’s City Council voted 4-0 on June 25 to name Councilmember Andrés Marquez its representative in talks over the proposed Alexander Valley Water District.
- The district would be a landowner-governed agency covering the Alexander Valley groundwater basin — but it excludes the cities of Cloverdale and Healdsburg themselves.
- Sonoma LAFCo denied the district’s formation earlier this year; a request to reconsider is expected back before the commission in August.
- The push is driven by an increasingly unreliable Russian River supply — worsened by the wind-down of Eel River water imported through the Potter Valley Project.
What the council did
The vote doesn’t commit Cloverdale to supporting or opposing the new district. It hands Marquez the role of being the city’s eyes, ears and voice while the proposal moves — coordinating with regional water players and bringing a recommendation back so the full council can take a formal stance before the next round of decisions this summer. In practical terms, Cloverdale decided it would rather help shape the district than watch it form from the sidelines.
What the Alexander Valley Water District would be
The proposed district is unusual. It would be a California Water District covering land over the Alexander Valley groundwater basin, but only landowners could vote in its elections or serve as directors — and votes are weighted by land area, not one-person-one-vote. By petition, just over half the land inside the proposed boundary is behind it.
It would also carve around the towns: the boundary excludes the cities of Cloverdale and Healdsburg, the Rains Creek Water District, a county service area, public lands and tribal trust lands. The people pushing it are self-supplied water users — growers and rural property owners who hold their own water rights and run their own pumps and diversions off the Russian River and the groundwater tied to it. They argue they have no formal seat in regional water decisions, and a district would give the valley one.
Why now
This is where the bigger North Coast water story comes in. Alexander Valley users lean on the Russian River, and the river’s reliability is slipping — partly from repeated drought, and partly from the long goodbye of the Potter Valley Project. For more than a century, PG&E’s hydropower works moved Eel River water through a tunnel into the East Fork Russian River. That imported water is being sharply reduced as the project is decommissioned, and everyone downstream is now doing the math on a thinner river.
A formal district would also let Alexander Valley landowners sit at the groundwater table created under California’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, alongside Cloverdale, Healdsburg and Geyserville — instead of being represented by others.
What happens next
The Sonoma Local Agency Formation Commission — the panel that signs off on new public agencies — rejected the district’s formation earlier this year. Backers have asked LAFCo to reconsider, and that request is expected to come back before the commission in August. Between now and then, Marquez carries Cloverdale’s questions into the room. The council’s official position is still to be written. The June 25 vote just decided who holds the pen.
Frequently asked questions
What did Cloverdale actually vote on?
The council voted 4-0 on June 25 to authorize Councilmember Andrés Marquez to represent the city in talks over the proposed Alexander Valley Water District. It was not a vote for or against the district.
What is the Alexander Valley Water District?
A proposed landowner-governed water district over the Alexander Valley groundwater basin. Only landowners could vote or serve as directors, votes are weighted by land area, and the boundary excludes the cities of Cloverdale and Healdsburg.
What’s the next step?
Sonoma LAFCo denied the district’s formation earlier this year. A request to reconsider is expected before the commission in August.