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# Willits Moves to Extend Water Line to Mobile Home Park North of Town
- URL: https://www.mendolocal.news/willits-moves-to-extend-water-line-to-mobile-home-park-north-of-town/
- Published: 2026-09-01T23:55:58.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-01T23:56:24.000Z
- Description: The City Council voted Aug. 26 to apply for a state grant to extend the city's water system to the Little Lake Mobile Home Park. The roughly 38 residents now depend on water trucked in by the state.
- Author: Elise Cox

The Willits City Council voted Aug. 26 to apply for a state grant to extend the city's water system about one mile north of the city limits to the Little Lake Mobile Home Park, whose sole groundwater well began failing in 2023\. The roughly 38 residents now depend on water trucked in by the state.

The 4-0 vote authorizes staff to submit a grant application to the State Water Resources Control Board for the North Main Street Pipeline Extension Project and to execute related agreements. Council Member Bruce Burton recused himself and did not vote. Council Member Gerardo Gonzalez moved to adopt the resolution; Mayor Tom Allman seconded.

Community Development Director Dusty Duley told the council the state has been supplying the park through its Urgent Drinking Water Needs Program, trucking in water after the park's single well began having structural failures. With no long-term alternative, Duley said, the state is now requiring the city to extend its utilities to the park. The project is estimated at $3.4 million — covering construction, environmental review, design, and city staff time. Duley said the grant would reimburse the city in full.

According to the staff report, the project would run roughly 6,000 feet of new water main along North Main Street, connect to the city's existing 10-inch main, and install a master meter and backflow-prevention device at the park along with three fire hydrants. The vote does not authorize construction; a California Environmental Quality Act document is still in preparation.

The park's water problems have come before the council before — twice raised by Burton in committee reports. On Sept. 10, 2025, Burton, reporting from the Water/Wastewater Committee, listed "the Little Lake Mobile Home Park water connection" among ongoing water projects. On Jan. 28, 2026, he reported that the park "has a water deficiency issue and is seeking to hook up to city water." 

At Tuesday's meeting, before Duley finished his presentation, Burton raised his own potential conflict. "I have a conflict of interest on this," he said, telling the council, "I own the property next door." The city attorney explained that an official who owns property within 500 feet of a matter that could have a material financial effect on them has a potential conflict; Allman asked Burton to step aside, and he left the hearing room.

The extension's only immediate customer is the mobile home park. Under questioning from the council, Public Works Director Davey Bowles said the new city-owned pipeline could also serve growth over the long term. The benefit to the city, Bowles said, is that it "would be able to, in the future, way down the road, have this for any future development if that would be annexed." A council member asked whether an adjacent property owner could later tap the line to build housing; Bowles said an owner could apply to the Local Agency Formation Commission and, if approved by LAFCO and the county, receive a service lateral and meter.

Properties between the city limits and the park — including at least one house and a second, smaller mobile home park — would be bypassed by the project and would not receive connections through it, Bowles said. Because the park's well has failed, its extension is a special circumstance. Normally, Bowles noted, out-of-city service agreements come with the expectation that the property will be annexed into the city. Other owners along the route would have to apply separately through LAFCO and pay those costs themselves.

Read the [Willits City Council Full Report](https://www.mendolocal.news/willits-city-council-full-report-august-26-2026/) for August 26, 2026