Catch up on the latest GSA board meeting recaps anytime—at home, on the road, or on your tractor.
Proud Partners of
Delta-Mendota was unanimously returned to DWR after staff concluded probation wasn’t warranted, while flagging remaining items for future updates. Small pumpers (≤20 AF/yr) were excluded from State probationary reporting/fees in Tule and Tulare Lake; Tulare Lake’s exclusion was amended to bar exporters. Snowpack was reported at 18%; SWP allocation at 30%. March set a new CA temp record by 3.5°F and was the driest March on record.
GEARS reporting is due May 1 (fees $300/well + $20/AF; 25% late penalty). Staff relayed that if you have an irrigation well and a domestic well on the same property, both must be reported. Stakeholders discussed (based on a webinar) how recharge credits may be treated in reporting, and the April 21 exclusion-denial hearing was discussed.
Water season is underway with ~131,765 enrolled acres tracking closely to last year. A pulse flow is set to begin around April 7–8, ramping to 10,000 cfs, with intake dredging expected to start as early as next Friday pending river levels. The Lurline pump station is essentially complete, with SCADA operational and a final software patch and walkthrough scheduled for Monday.
Snowpack is 29% of average and April–July runoff is well below normal; the Board discussed potentially bringing replenishment-water discussion earlier than June (possibly May). Irrigation planning uses 542,000 AF from Don Pedro. The Board approved a 130 MW solar + 260 MWh battery interconnection; staff said interconnection costs are ~$7M paid by Hondeville.
Basin conditions were reviewed amid zero March rain and post-peak groundwater declines. WY2025 extractions (~4,138 AF) were noted near the low end of sustainable yield. The Board discussed next steps for non-reporting/unmetered wells, including potential penalties, and agreed the issue should go to the meter compliance ad hoc committee.
