(Wines&Vines) - El Niño may have brought much needed relief from years of drought this winter, but growers in southern Napa County are toasting a new source of water that’s a little more reliable than oceanic currents.

Earlier this month, the Napa Sanitation District celebrated the completion of nearly $50 million worth of projects to provide more recycled water for vineyard and landscaping irrigation. Napa’s Soscol Water Recycling Facility is located on the bank of the Napa River just south of the city. From Nov. 1 to April 30, treated wastewater is discharged into the river, and during the rest of the year it’s stored in treatment ponds or used for irrigation.

The expanded network of pipes will enable the district to deliver more recycled water to more properties in the Coombsville and Carneros appellations. The Coombsville pipe was finished in 2015, and the Carneros project was just recently completed.

Jimmy Kawalek, president of the Coombsville Vintners and Growers, said the “vast majority” of the group’s members have not connected to the the Milliken-Sarco-Tulocay pipe, which brings recycled water to the area. He said most members report it’s too expensive to connect their property, or they’re not in the service area.

 In Carneros, water had been an issue long before the region earned its reputation for producing quality Pinot Noir and Chardonnay grapes.

John Stewart is the president of the Los Carneros Water District and owns a 20-acre property that was part of what had once been a much larger ranch owned by his family. He said the idea of bringing recycled water to Carneros first arose in the 1960s and gained more attention during the drought years of the late 1970s but never went anywhere. “For whatever reason, the project never really gained traction,” he said.

Stewart is a retired civil engineer and was the Napa Sanitation District manager in the 1990s. After he retired in 2004, he became the president of the Los Carneros Water District and helped set in motion the process of getting a recycled water pipeline built.

The first step was an assessment for a feasibility study that informed the district who was interested in such a project. That led to a design assessment on 150 parcels in 2009 and early 2010.