Board delayed a management area allocation decision until January 2026, pending additional fault investigation, after staff identified material data gaps. A proposed water market policy was sent back for revisions due to unanimous opposition from Advisory Committee and concerns about stakeholder engagement. They also explored options for basin-wide groundwater management outside currently regulated areas, considering hybrid approaches that could include new management zones.
The advisory committee recommended rejecting a proposed water market policy due to concerns about equity and inadequate stakeholder engagement, with members worried small farmers couldn't access water from large corporate sellers. Staff presented mixed results from a Ventucopa area assessment showing stable groundwater levels despite data gaps, while a critical fault investigation was delayed until January, pushing back allocation decisions. The committee also reviewed new procedures for responding to groundwater threshold violations and considered a variance request due to alleged calculation errors. The final decision will be made on the September 3rd Board Meeting.
The board advanced a new water market for trading allocations in the Central Management Area and began evaluating whether to extend water restrictions to the Ventucopa area. Key actions also included approving a new weather station, delaying carryover policy discussions, and addressing concerns about development outside current management zones.
