Trinidad. | Photo by Coolcaesar, CC BY-SA 3.0.


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    As the Trinidad Rancheria slowly but surely works toward securing a source of water for the multi-story Hyatt hotel it wants to build next to The Heights Casino, the City of Trinidad will take a fresh look at whether or not to upgrade its own municipal water supply from that same source — a mainline extension from the Humboldt Bay Municipal Water District (HBMWD).

    The Rancheria is currently working on a draft feasibility study analyzing the potential connection to an extended HBMWD mainline. Trinidad residents, meanwhile, have been divided, sometimes bitterly, over the question of whether the city needs a more reliable and voluminous water supply. 

    Since the mid-1970s, the city has gotten its water from the Luffenholtz Creek watershed, which at times has been barely sufficient to meet demand. During the drought years of 2018-2021, for example, Trinidad had to implement emergency conservation measures amid a series of water shortages, which were exacerbated by leaks in the city’s aging infrastructure. 

    The Rancheria, meanwhile, struggled for years to identify a water supply sufficient to support development, including the 100-room hotel it hopes to build on a bluff overlooking the Pacific. After being rebuffed by the City of Trinidad in 2020, the Rancheria turned to the HBMWD, requesting government-to-government consultation on a mainline extension.

    The City of Trinidad was invited to participate in a feasibility study, through which it could explore the possibility of getting its own water through that pipeline. But the prospect proved highly controversial among local residents, with opponents, including Fifth District Supervisor Steve Madrone, arguing that a pipeline connection would pave the way for future development that could spoil the region’s rural charm.

    In 2021, at a meeting where most public commenters voiced opposition to the pipeline, the Trinidad City Council decided not to join that feasibility study, via a 3-2 vote. 

    But now, more than four years later, city leaders plan to ask residents to reconsider that decision. Reached by phone on Wednesday, Trinidad City Clerk Gabriel Adams confirmed that the agenda for next Tuesday’s city council meeting will include a discussion item about the pipeline engineering study.

    Trinidad residents were recently notified via a message printed on the back of all customers’ water bills:

    The Humboldt Bay Municipal Water District has suggested the City of Trinidad join the discussion with urgency as the Trinidad Rancheria’s water service connection project is rapidly moving forward.

    The agenda discussion background will touch on the history of  the Trinidad Water System and the Luffenholtz Creek watershed, including a variety of reports and studies analyzing the reliability of the watershed, lessons learned during the 2020 drought, increasing vulnerabilities of small water system operations, the complete drawdown of the Water Fund reserves, and the need for raising rates to match needs of funding the system.

    The Council will be asked to provide staff with direction on whether to participate in the engineering study to gain a deeper understanding of the pros and cons of the proposal.

    A local community group called the Humboldt Alliance for Responsible Planning (HARP), which has long opposed both the Rancheria’s hotel project and a municipal connection to the HBMWD mainline, recently sent a letter urging neighbors to oppose the proposition. The letter warns that a pipeline connection “would induce substantial growth and development in the greater Trinidad area,” including the hotel project, while potentially increasing costs and creating environmental concerns.

    The water district’s new general manager, Michiko Mares, told the Outpost on Thursday that there are still many opportunities for public review and participation. Once the engineering analysis is completed, the HBMWD, as lead agency on the project, would begin environmental design and review, a process that would require approval from the Humboldt Local Agency Formation Commission, or LAFCo. 

    The Trinidad Rancheria’s chief executive officer, Jacque Hostler-Carmesin, said the Rancheria would welcome the city’s participation, if that’s what residents and councilmembers choose to pursue.

    “It should be a very interesting conversation,” Hostler-Carmesin said regarding next week’s meeting. “The Rancheria has communicated with the mayor and the city council that we’d be happy to work with them. We believe it’s a great project, and we would welcome working with the City. But it’s definitely up to the City Council and constituents on how they move forward.”

    The Trinidad City Council meeting will be held at the Town Hall, 409 Trinity Street, starting at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, July 8. Public comments can be submitted anytime beforehand, in person or electronically by email to cityclerk@trinidad.ca.gov, or at the meeting via Zoom or in person. See here for more details. 

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