Supply chain delays cost Yuba City state grant funds for ASR well, forcing $650,000 local backfill

Supply chain delays cost Yuba City state grant funds for ASR well, forcing $650,000 local backfillExtended lead times for materials pushed the Water Treatment Plant Aquifer Storage and Recovery Well No. 3 past its March 2026 grant deadline. The City Council has authorized a budget transfer from unallocated water funds to cover the remaining engineering and startup costs.

The California Department of Water Resources (DWR) originally awarded Yuba City a $6.325 million grant for the ASR well in March 2022.

Due to material delivery delays on above-ground extraction equipment, the city missed the March 31, 2026, grant expiration date and was denied an extension by DWR.

The City Council approved a $650,000 transfer from the Unallocated Capital Water Fund to cover consultant and construction inspection costs that are no longer eligible for reimbursement.

An amendment to Carollo Engineers' design contract reduces its authorized amount to $2.4 million, reflecting cost savings from a value engineering effort that shaved $3.8 million off initial construction estimates.

Yuba City, California, has been forced to tap its local water reserves to complete a critical Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR) well after supply chain delays caused the project to miss a state grant deadline. During its July 21, 2026, meeting, the City Council approved a $650,000 transfer from the Unallocated Capital Water Fund to bankroll the final stages of the Water Treatment Plant ASR Well No. 3 project. The local funding will replace grant revenues that were lost when the city could not complete the facility's above-ground extraction phase in time. The California Department of Water Resources (DWR) originally awarded the city a $6.325 million Urban and Multibenefit Drought Relief Grant in March 2022 to design and construct the two-way well, which allows potable water to be injected into the groundwater aquifer during periods of abundance and extracted during dry spells. While the city successfully completed the 500-foot below-ground drilling phase and the interim recharge infrastructure, the final "Extraction Equipping Phase" stalled. According to a staff report from Public Works Director Joshua Wolffe, the project suffered from "lengthy lead times for material delivery." Because the second phase design could not be finalized until the first phase of construction concluded, the delays cascaded. The city actively coordinated with DWR for a time extension but was ultimately denied. The grant officially expired on March 31, 2026. The city successfully invoiced DWR for approximately $3.13 million in eligible costs incurred prior to the deadline, but the remaining consultant services and startup activities must now be covered locally. To align the project with available local funds, the Council authorized an amendment to the city's professional services agreement with Carollo Engineers. The amendment redistributes existing task funds and reduces the overall authorized contract amount to $2.4 million. This reduction was made possible by an earlier value engineering effort by city staff and Carollo, which successfully slashed the estimated construction costs from $11.1 million down to approximately $7.25 million. The $650,000 local fund transfer will support the remaining engineering, labor compliance, and construction inspection contracts held by Carollo, The Solis Group, and ICM. According to the Public Works Department, no further budget adjustments or General Fund contributions are anticipated to complete the ASR project.