Thompson Presents $959,752 Check to City of St. Helena for Water Treatment Facility Upgrades

St. Helena - Today, Rep. Mike Thompson (CA-04)presented a check for $959,752 tothe City of St. Helena tohelp upgrade the St. Helena water treatment facility's Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system, which is the computer system that operators use to monitor and control the plant.

"When completed, upgrades to the St. Helena water treatment facility's SCADA system will provide facility operators the option to monitor and control the treatment process remotely. This is essential for the plant to remain operational when there are public safety power shutoffs, wildfire damage to the power grid, or the access road for the facility becomes impassable during wildfire events," said Rep. Thompson. "This funding is critical in helping the city meet Safe Drinking Water Act standards and ensuring the equipment at the St. Helena water supply facility operates efficiently, effectively, and sustainably."

"We are grateful to Congressman Thompson and his staff for working so diligently to secure these funds for our community. Restoring our water and wastewater infrastructure and ensuring our residents' health and safety are top priorities for both me and Congressman Thompson, and this grant will help us to meet our shared goals and keep our residents safe," said St. Helena Mayor, Paul Dohring.

"We appreciate Congressman Thompson's advocacy for this critical component of the City's infrastructure and look forward the delivery of a project the enhances the resiliency of the City's water supply," said PE Director of Public Works and City Engineer, Joe Leach.

The Water Treatment Plant SCADA and Microgrid Project will increase resiliency and redundancy to a critical water supply facility. The facility's existing outdated SCADA system only notifies operators of after-hours alarms and does not provide them remote operational access to monitor and change elements of the treatment process. Implementation of the SCADA upgrades is essential for remote operation of the facility, especially as St. Helena explores regional operational models for delivery of services. The need for the microgrid system became keenly apparent with the wildfires from the last few years.

Rep. Thompson secured this funding through the Fiscal Year 2024 Federal appropriations process. This project is one of three projects Rep. Thompson secured in Napa County for a total of $3,142,821 and $16,375,174 total for projects in California's Fourth District. The project was requested by the City of St. Helena.