Golden Haven Hot Spring Spa and Resort is one of several geothermal spas in Calistoga, California, in the northern Napa Valley. Geothermal fluids with low to moderate temperatures of 60°F to 275°F (15 °C to 135°C) occur in the shallow subsurface over a 5.97-square-mile area around Calistoga and have been used in local spas since the early 1860s. The City of Calistoga has been trying to reduce the existing practice of spas, like Golden Haven, discharging spent geothermal fluids to the municipal sewer system because dissolved geothermal solids exceed the regulatory limits of a sanitary system release into the Napa River.
The Golden Haven Spa project sought to drill and successfully complete Golden Haven Spa #3 (GHS-3) as an injection well capable of disposing geothermal fluids used by the spa with no impact on production from the existing supply wells and adjacent direct-use wells in the Calistoga area. Based on test results, that goal has been accomplished with funding and support from the California Energy Commission. The location, depth, and casing program for GHS-3 were specifically chosen to minimize detrimental interference with the existing production well of the spa and adjacent shallow direct-use wells. The GHS-3 well has been permitted as a geothermal injection well by California Geologic Energy Management Division (CalGEM). Because of GHS-3, instead of being extracted and wasted, outflow from the Golden Haven Spa facilities will be returned to the deeper underlying geothermal system, effectively conserving geothermal fluids while reducing the levels of trace contaminants in discharged wastewater.
