The board weighed a proposed three-year Land IQ renewal and the existing district cost-sharing approach; a motion carried after the discussion, though its terms were not stated. An approximately $999,000 DWR grant reimbursement arrived after August’s low cash balance, and DWR approved moving about $115,000 to ongoing grant work. Staff discussed CDFW’s groundwater-plan comments. A hearing and possible adoption are planned for November 3 at 7:30 a.m. at the Arvin-Edison office.
The board approved the FY 2026–2027 budget ($643,700). The board discussed LandIQ costs and a possible long-term shift toward well metering (no decision). The Public Review Draft 2026 Amended GSP was released for public review; a 60-day comment period is proposed, with a draft deadline of Sept. 5, 2026. The board approved pursuing Grapevine RV Park and Cuyama Orchards wells for water quality monitoring, with Tut Brothers wells as backup.
The board approved revised land-subsidence SMCs (including aqueduct-specific criteria) and approved removing interconnected surface water SMCs after DWR indicated the GSP already states none exist in the basin. A ~$579K EKI task order was approved to support GSP implementation through April 2027, with ~$126K grant-reimbursable and the remainder split among three member districts. EKI also shared details on Proposition 4 SGMA grant funding totaling $386 million, with no cost share required.
Groundwater pumping in Water Year 2025 came in well below sustainable yield, and no undesirable results were identified in the draft Water Year 2025 Annual Report overview across sustainability indicators, including water quality, subsidence, and storage. Grant reimbursements from the state remain significantly delayed, though funds are expected. The board approved January financial statements and the February 3, 2026 meeting minutes.
The GSA is discussing potential changes to sustainable management criteria for groundwater dependent ecosystems that appear disconnected from the principal aquifer and influenced primarily by precipitation. Land subsidence criteria are being developed using a 0.09 feet per year planning rate with focus on California Aqueduct protection. An ad hoc committee recommended keeping arsenic and nitrate as key concerns and dropping selenium from the constituents of concern list.
