AUGUST! How did that happen so quickly? While the summer weather is beautiful, the reality of this drought is ever present. With drought restrictions coming to a spigot near you, it is important to do your part. As residents of the City of American, we have utilized a number of water saving techniques. We are going to do our part to save potable water and I hope you will join us.
First we placed a water bag in our toilet tank to flush our toilet with less water. Next we changed our showerheads to low flow showerheads. While I was anticipating the “freebie” showerhead to be a disappointment, I was pleasantly surprised with the pressure and flow. I’ve got a teenager in the house so the 5 minute timer we received from the City of American Canyon has already come in handy.
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Our home is now fully xeriscaped and we have removed the last piece of lawn. Still we need to be mindful about using our drinking water for indoor uses. We signed up for recycled water from the City of American Canyon. We received a free storage drum from the city and starting this Friday we will receive recycled water delivered right to our home. We will use this recycled water for plants and trees. Every little bit helps. For more information about recycled water read below.
Tonight is National Night Out—go outside and meet your neighbors. For those in the City of Napa, join the Sheriff’s Department at the Walmart parking lot, 681 Lincoln Avenue, from 4-7pm. In American Canyon catch one of the many block parties around town — I’ll see you out there.
Enjoy these last couple weeks of summer!. Be safe and always be ready (make sure to look up your evacuation zone below).
Sincerely,
Belia Ramos
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Fire Prevention & Preparation |
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Napa County continues to prepare for the upcoming fire season. Here's a glance at some of the measures we have taken:
- CAL FIRE positioned a Type I helicopter (pictured here)at the Napa Airport. The helicopter is capable of carrying up to 2,800 gallons. It uses the closest water source such as a pond, river, lake, etc. to reload the water tank in less than 1 minute. Fun fact, there are approximately 1,700 permanent water sources in Napa County. The County also anticipates securing an additional helicopter around mid-August.
- Crews have completed 2.5 linear miles of a shaded fuel break around the Circle Oaks community, averaging 100-200 ft. in width (roughly 46 acres treated). The project will protect over 200 homes and properties in this high fire risk area, threatened in 2017 and 2020 by wildfires.
- Nearly 7 miles along Howell Mountain Road have been cleared of back roadside vegetation that could be hazardous to evacuees if the roadway is impacted by fire.
- 1,543 defensible space ordinance inspections have been completed in 2021. Of those, 241 properties were non-compliant, and we are working through the re-inspection and abatement process with the property owners.
- Over the past 3 months, the County Fire Department has consulted with over 240 residential homes for personalized consulting of defensible space improvements.
- 680 chipping requests have been completed, totaling 62,088 cubic yards.
- Approximately 30 volunteer Fire Fighters have been added to the County Fire Department.
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New Technology for Evacuations |
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Napa County's new emergency evacuation platform, Zonehaven, will support first responders to safely evacuate the community during emergencies. This platform works by dividing our County into evacuation zones that are used to notify the public of imminent threat or danger. Authorities will use zone numbers in emergency alerts, press releases and on social media to notify residents about which areas are under evacuation warning or order during emergencies. Residents can use this tool before disasters to enhance their readiness and learn their zones for home and work. To find your evacuation zone visit Community.Zonehaven.com
and type your address in the search bar then write down your zone number.
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Watch this short clip to learn more about Zonehaven |
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As you've heard, the Delta variant is spreading quickly and as a result case rates are doubling and hospitalizations are increasing across the Bay Area. Napa County continues to align with the masking guidance outlined by the California Department of Public Health, where universal masking is recommended indoors, regardless of vaccination status. Additionally, masks are required on public transportation, indoors in K-12 schools and childcare, in emergency and homeless shelters, healthcare settings, correctional facilities and detention centers, long term care settings, and adult and senior care facilities.
Businesses are also urged to adopt universal masking requirements for customers entering indoor areas of their businesses to provide better protection to their employees and customers. This will also make it easier for businesses to be sure unvaccinated people are masked. Workplaces must comply with Cal/OSHA requirements.
The most important strategy to reduce COVID-19 transmission and hospitalization is vaccination and Napa County is continuing to educate and encourage people to get vaccinated as soon as possible. Although our case rates have increased, Napa County's hospitalization capacity remains intact. We will continue to monitor transmission rates, hospitalizations, deaths and increasing vaccination rates to determine if a mask mandate is needed.
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Redwood Grove: First Time Homeownership |
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This past weekend 34 families opened their door to first time homeownership and a future of memories. Napa County is a proud funder of the Redwood Grove project and I am glad we could play a part in creating a beautiful community that brings people closer to their work and into affordable homeownership. I'm ready to support more of this! |
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Soscol-Devlin Roundabout Project |
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Napa County is proposing to improve the intersection of Devlin Road and Soscol Ferry Road with the construction of a roundabout. On Tuesday, August 17, the Board will be considering the adoption of a Mitigated Negative Declaration for the project, available here. If approved, the proposed project along with the Soscol Junction Project (an overpass and two roundabouts at the juncture of Highways 29/221) will help alleviate traffic congestion allowing for turning movements in all directions. Stay tuned for more on this or join us here at 9am during the Board of Supervisors meeting on August 17 to learn more!
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Residential Recycled Water Program |
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Last week, this City of American Canyon kicked off the delivery of recycled water as part of their Residential Recycled Water Program. The program provides registered users with free containers and access to self-serve filling stations. Recycled water can and should be used for irrigation, decorative fountains, and gardening. For every gallon of recycled water used to irrigate, a gallon of precious drinkable water is saved. To learn more, read the FAQ's About Recycled Water.
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Green Island Industrial District |
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The Green Island Industrial District in American Canyon is home to hundreds of diverse jobs. From wine warehousing, bottling, food production and materials production — these businesses provide economic vitality in the southern portion of the County. Last week I gathered with the American Canyon Chamber, City of American Canyon and American Canyon Police Department to provide an update on issues of concern to these businesses. From traffic, to safety, to childcare and water availability, we had a robust conversation and I look forward to continuing to work with these businesses. |
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Upcoming Board of Supervisors Meetings . . .
August 10 at 9:00 a.m. on the third floor of the County Administration Building—1195 Third Street, Suite 305, Napa.
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Raised in unincorporated St. Helena and Pope Valley, Belia is a first-generation Mexican-American who was born at Queen of the Valley Hospital in Napa. She currently resides in American Canyon, but calls all of Napa County home. Belia is a business owner, educator, community advocate, and mother of three children. Belia attended St. Helena public schools from kindergarten through high school. She graduated from Saint Mary's College of California in 1999 and UC Hastings College of the Law in 2004. Belia served as an American Canyon City Council Member from 2010-2016. In 2017, Belia was elected to the Napa County Board of Supervisors. She currently serves on the following panels: Napa Valley Transportation Authority, Association of Bay Area Governments, North Bay Water Reuse Authority, Latino Caucus of California Counties and Rebuild North Bay.
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Supervisor Belia Ramos, Fifth District | Napa County Board of Supervisors |
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