Stay on top of SGMA

The board reviewed a draft $550,000 FY 2026-27 budget dominated by the mandatory five-year GSP evaluation ($120,000) and annual report ($55,000), with final approval set for Tuesday, June 16. Well metering compliance is 77% (219 of 286 registered wells); draft Tier 3 warning letters are expected at the June meeting. $10,000 for five transducers was approved.

The board approved a $30,000 fixed-fee contract for EKI to pursue a federal Water Smart grant (due July 8) that could fund up to 50% of model calibration costs, and continued the cost-share decision to June 8 while EKI proceeds under the current 1/7 split. Q1 had no groundwater level minimum-threshold exceedances; subsidence and water-quality QA/QC remain key watch items.

Board adopted the recharge project MND addendum (pump upgrades could raise diversion capacity from ~8,345 to ~20,500 gpm) and approved an interim amendment removing Sloughhouse RCD from the SASb MOU and updating cost shares. SASb costs drop next FY ($657,050 to $195,000) as managers opted not to do a full GSP update. Cosumnes and OHWD budgets were reviewed; action planned for June.

Reclamation increased the CVP South-of-Delta ag allocation to 25% (up from 20%), while the SWP allocation was 45%. Supplemental water is estimated at 70,000–85,000 AF at $775–$800/AF, with the next allocation expected in July. Staff is refining a copper-based golden mussel treatment approach; an alternatives analysis is expected in June.

The groundwater replenishment assessment rate is proposed to increase to $255/acre-foot for FY 2026-27, with staff recommending a public hearing on June 16, 2026 as the anticipated date to set rates. The State Water Project Table A allocation jumped from 30% to 45% despite below-average snowpack, boosting recharge supply availability. The groundwater basin continues to improve, with 264,000 acre-feet of artificial recharge producing a net 156,000 acre-foot increase in storage last year.