The board approved an amended budget and authorized $63,850 for designing new monitoring wells near the coast to address worsening seawater intrusion, with chloride levels climbing in the deepest aquifer zone and now affecting the B zone as well. They continue processing fee appeals from property owners challenging groundwater extraction charges, while a local grower raised concerns about annual allocation systems that penalize over-usage without crediting under-usage years.
The GSA is moving forward with a well metering policy requiring meters on wells pumping over 2 acre-feet annually, with $500 county grants available for installation assistance. The board approved a new $33,800 per acre-foot water supply impact fee for developments exceeding baseline allocations to fund infrastructure projects. Additionally, the GSA adopted new insurance coverage and approved a 14.7% budget increase to cover rising personnel and legal costs.
