Our water is from the Russian River and is pumped from wells about 100 feet below the river bed through a system called river bank filtration. Six groundwater wells, also known as collectors, pump the water through natural sands and gravels that act as a filtering system. The system produces high quality drinking water that does not face the water quality concerns that affect many public water systems throughout the United States. The Sonoma County Water Agency does not provide surface water taken directly from a river or lake to its customers. Learn more about our water supply and transmission system.