Catch up on the latest GSA board meeting recaps anytime—at home, on the road, or on your tractor.
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General Manager Curtis Weeks said Forebay data support a finding of sustainability, but the draft groundwater plan needs clearer Forebay-specific costs, technical review procedures and sustainability language. The board directed staff to submit written comments by November 18 and requested clarification of its options if it declines to approve the update. A special meeting to consider the plan is anticipated in January 2027.
The commission reviewed a possible two-phase state interim plan and stalled efforts toward a unified canal-area alternative. Staff plans to bring a draft Policy 9 subsidence order in November; pumping-based accounting was discussed for October 2027. Members recommended keeping current fallowing rules for now, with a roughly one-year expectation, but the board has not acted. GEARS reports are due February 1, 2027. No groundwater allocation change was adopted.
At the GSA board meeting, staff projected that a northern subsidence station could reach the 2-foot threshold around 2029; no new pumping limits were adopted. The district continued developing a Rain for Rent flood-recharge proposal. A separate 75-acre recharge basin project is out to bid, with bids opening November 19. Staff also raised privacy concerns about a proposed 40-acre modeling grid; no data-sharing decision was made.
The board approved filing the Butte Subbasin Periodic Evaluation, which describes sustainable groundwater conditions. Comments on the draft Colusa Subbasin GSP amendment close November 8; staff aims to bring it forward for adoption in January 2027. Staff hopes to shape the demand management program by the December joint meeting for implementation at the start of 2027.
The board continued the October 7 El Niño emergency action to prepare for possible winter impacts and awarded Gordon N. Ball a $125.6 million Coyote Creek flood-protection contract, with Phase 2 expected to finish in 2028. Staff reported no major shifts in water-supply or demand conditions and recommended continuing the Water Supply Master Plan’s lower-cost strategy.
