Basin conditions remain strong with groundwater levels recovered to pre-drought elevations and sustainability criteria met for WY2025. Extraction fees are increasingly burdening agricultural users, who now pay about three-quarters of costs based on pumping levels, and staff may bring a Prop 218/extraction-fee policy discussion at a future meeting (potentially April). Staff also canceled planned water budget modeling, reducing future consulting costs.
The board agreed to target a December 18th GSP evaluation workshop to follow the regular meeting, based on ongoing work with historical model data and shallow groundwater monitoring results. A coalition agreement with other small GSAs was restructured from an MOU to a simpler cost-sharing arrangement to avoid creating a new public agency subject to additional regulations. Groundwater extraction fee invoicing for the January–June 2025 period is underway, with invoices sent in September.
