Catch up on the latest GSA board meeting recaps anytime—at home, on the road, or on your tractor.
Proud Partners of
Water Year 2027 allocations remain unchanged, and the Greater Kaweah board approved unchanged tier penalty rates of $250/$250/$500 per acre-foot. It authorized staff to negotiate and purchase supplemental water, capped at $10 million from penalty revenue; program details remain in development. After a public hearing, it authorized staff to record certificates of lien for delinquent tier penalties. Staff reported about $1.5 million in recent payments.
The committee recommended a $435,000 Phase 2 monitoring-well contract, with total costs estimated near $560,000 against a $750,000 budget. A clean audit found net position up about 75%, with no debt. Staff noted a $14,850 revenue shortfall caused by billing from an older spreadsheet. Draft SGMA grant guidelines outline $386 million statewide; concept proposals may be due in March 2027.
Directors unanimously adopted an immediately effective update to the district’s year-round water-waste ordinance, including phased nonfunctional-turf restrictions. Staff forecast a 100% chance of a very strong El Niño from October through December and a greater than 83% chance of a record Pacific temperature anomaly—not record rainfall—and outlined flood preparations. A groundwater-management update is due December 29, with no operating changes expected and a possible December 10 hearing.
The board conditionally approved a roughly $3.6 million Hornor Basin construction award to Cal Valley Construction, subject to federal environmental clearance. Friant-Kern Canal drawdown is expected around October 23, ahead of a planned November–January shutdown. North Kings GSA allocation figures remain in development; none were adopted. The board approved the Eastside Creeks agreement, documenting existing creek-water priorities and setting measurement cost shares.
Five draft groundwater plan amendments are open for comment; Monterey’s is expected October 20. Comments received by November 18 will be included in December board materials; later comments may enter the January hearing record. The board approved an OceanWell study MOU requiring no direct GSA funding and bylaws limiting the chair to three consecutive years, and advanced proposed JPA revisions. Staff discussed deep-aquifer allocation planning and county well policies; no allocations or moratorium were adopted.
