Contractors will begin drilling a new well on the Gallagher ranch outside Point Reyes Station in March, part of North Marin Water District’s plan to shift away from longstanding wells increasingly impacted by saltwater. The new well, delayed for months by an environmental appeal process, will cost more than double the district’s estimate, at $192,000. North Marin’s chief engineer, Tony Williams, wrote in a staff report that high demand, fluctuating materials costs and the remoteness of the site accounted for a higher-than-expected drilling estimate from the contractor, Maggiora Bros. Drilling. The second phase of construction, which will install a 500-foot pipeline to connect the new well to a transmission line leading to another well on the ranch that has not performed as expected since it was built in 1992, will involve a separate bidding process. The district secured a $464,000 small community drought relief grant from the California Department of Water Resources last month and will use it to cover some of the cost; the rest will be covered under the district’s annual budget, which is largely funded by water sales. High salinity levels in North Marin’s two Coast Guard wells have plagued West Marin customers since 2020 and recently led the district to truck in water for those on low-salt diets. The district believes the new Gallagher well will generate somewhere between 144,000 and 216,000 gallons a day; when combined with the old Gallagher well, this would meet the average demand in West Marin without tapping into the Coast Guard wells. The project, originally set to be completed last summer, was held up when Inverness Park resident Gordon Bennett appealed it, first to the county and then to the California Coastal Commission, over concerns it would impact streamflows in Lagunitas Creek and harm salmon spawning habitat. Mr. Bennett contended the well wouldn’t be necessary if the district promoted better conservation.