Catch up on the latest GSA board meeting recaps anytime—on the road, on your tractor, or at home.
Penalties for well and meter registration were waived until after Aug 31, 2026 (March 31 due date unchanged; staff asked for forms by July 31). Billing will use estimated pumping through Aug 31, then switch to AMI data starting Sept 1. Preliminary FY2027 budget assuming $120/AF was information-only; final/Prop 218 on Apr 8, 2026.
Board approved the Self Help Enterprises agreement to help administer the domestic well mitigation program (application review, interim emergency water, and long-term mitigation recommendations). Non-District East must submit an Action Plan by Nov 1, 2026 (implement by Jan 31, 2027); Stanislaus County said it hopes to have a consultant selected by end of April. MID’s fee/budget resolution was shared; members asked for a future discussion item for more detail.
The board approved a $149,820 not-to-exceed contract with Zanjero for a basin-wide net groundwater impact accounting framework, funded through existing assessments. ED Berry said GSAs must advance demand management planning per the GSP. Kleinfelder presented plans for ~$2M federal ARPA-funded monitoring and data projects.
A groundwater storage credit policy remains in development after agencies agreed to break a broad draft resolution into smaller, topic-specific policies—nothing was adopted. Before any policy is finalized, technical staff will stress-test the basin model using drought scenarios to evaluate pumping impacts. Private well outreach will continue; a possible private-user workshop and a potential participation threshold (e.g., 25 acre-feet/year) were discussed but not finalized.
Staff reported precip ~80% of normal but snowpack ~46%, with Delta export constraints; SWP allocation could be ~25–30%. Staff presented the 2025 Ag Water Management Plan update noting ~68,000 irrigated acres (down ~13,000). Board voted to set DCP planning funding at 1% for the 2026–27 window pending unmet conditions.
