The YSGA received $580,000 from DWR's SGMA Implementation Grant for feasibility studies in the City of Winters. The first feasibility study would examine the feasibility of upgrading the City of Winters’ Wastewater Treatment Facility to recycle domestic wastewater for use in municipal/residential non-potable irrigation or sale to nearby growers for agricultural uses, thereby reducing groundwater pumping in the area.

The second feasibility study would assess the feasibility of developing a supplemental surface water supply source to augment declining groundwater supplies for the City. The City of Winters would evaluate three potential surface water supply sources: 1) Putah Creek; 2) Cache Creek; and 3) the Sacramento River. For each potential source, the City would evaluate the legal, institutional, and engineering feasibility of diverting, conveying, treating, and distributing surface water within the City of Winters. This would include the preparation of a Water Availability Analysis for each source to assess the likelihood of establishing rights to use the water and to characterize the volumes and timing of water availability.