Catch up on the latest GSA board meeting recaps anytime—at home, on the road, or on your tractor.
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The Stakeholder Committee recommended certified meters for all wells by the end of the 2026–27 water year and a penalty of up to $10,000 per well, subject to board action. Staff proposed mailing local extraction bills around December 1, 2026, due at the end of January 2027. State GEARS fees were estimated at $300 per well and $20 per acre-foot, pending confirmation. Staff is drafting a Friant-Kern Canal subsidence plan; no allocation change was adopted.
The board approved its 2027 meeting calendar. DMC subsidence Task 1 remains on schedule and on budget; the latest approved invoice placed progress at 35.7% of the overall budget, not physical completion. Golden mussels delayed O’Neill maintenance by a week and added about $25,000 in contractor costs. Low Delta inflows and salinity intrusion are limiting south Delta pumping. Staff expects to bring a proposed Task 2A price to the board around January.
A slide blocks downstream Ione Canal flow. Crews built a temporary cattle-water supply as staff scopes possible full abandonment; long-term service remains unresolved. Mule Creek Prison’s roughly 2 million gallons of storage are offline; the 1985 agreement requires the agency to supply it. Staff seeks tank repairs and models supply options. Tanner Clearwell bidding targets January 2027; the $6.9 million Buckhorn main and Tank D project targets an April 2027 start.
Staff recommended Board approval of a $103,510 reimbursement to Fremont for paving-related valve work, the first such project above $100,000; the cost exceeded the general manager’s authority. Staff reviewed a draft UC Berkeley infrastructure research agreement, with $95,000 budgeted; it remains unexecuted. The committee also discussed an approved fire-hydrant break-off check valve drawing intended to reduce water loss and property-damage risks.
Cuyama Basin Groundwater Sustainability Agency directors approved two-tier, volume-based overpumping penalties for 2026 and amended the allocation exchange policy. Models at two sites outside the Central Management Area projected groundwater declines below 2 feet per year, though limited local data constrain confidence. Directors favored pausing variance-pool work without changing allocations and supported preparing a state groundwater grant concept proposal.
