Groundwater levels are recovering from drought conditions but remain below sea level in most monitoring areas, raising seawater intrusion concerns. The board approved a $33,363 consultant contract to complete the required 2025 annual sustainability report while key staff is on leave. A temporary assistant operations manager position was also approved to facilitate knowledge transfer before the current manager's retirement in July 2026, ensuring operational continuity.
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.
