Water deliveries are near full capacity with almost 4,000 acre-feet scheduled for July, and a final 10,400 acre-feet transfer to Lower Tule will occur in July. Golden mussels were discussed; speakers said they have not been detected this far north yet, but staff noted uncertainty. Staff said the district agreed to a Nov. 1 canal shutoff date and expects to be on the new canal when deliveries resume at the end of January.
A hard shutdown begins November 1 to support Terra Bella's tie-in to the new canal, with completion targeted by end of January and deliveries resuming around February; staff said to plan on operating with wells during the shutdown. The board approved Stop Alarm monitoring for multiple pump stations after a third copper theft at Station 6 resulting in ~$54,000 in losses, and staff reviewed a Station 1 transformer failure tied to overloading, with pad-mount replacements planned this winter.
Terra Bella plans a Nov. 1 shutdown for the new canal tie-in and expects to be back online by Feb. 1. The Bureau confirmed TBID will stay at 100% Class 1 this year. Millerton is ~28,000 AF from spilling; any spill would be URF/non-storable and not expected to affect TBID. Lower Tule named a new manager; staff will monitor the exchange arrangement.
The 2026 water year budget and rates were adopted after a 45-day public comment period with no objections. The board discussed State Water Board certified well-registration letters and noted advice that if reporting any use, report 0.15 AF/acre (the native safe yield portion). Friant allocation was cited as 85% for planning purposes, with a possible update to 80–85% after storm data.
Water supply was discussed as favorable despite weak snowpack: 2,962 AF carryover and a 12,000 AF Lower Tule transfer were cited as a cushion. The Board approved a resolution stating Terra Bella GSA is operating under the ETGSA GSP until consultant updates. Eastern Tule GSA wind-down, closeout billing/reimbursements, and audit prep were discussed.
