Catch up on the latest GSA board meeting recaps anytime—at home, on the road, or on your tractor.
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The board approved significant water and wastewater rate increases for 2026 following a comprehensive rate study, with a public hearing scheduled for December. A $45 million federal WIFIA loan for critical infrastructure projects remains on track despite potential delays from the government shutdown. Additionally, a proposed pipeline project to send treatment plant backwash water for dust control has generated community controversy due to widespread misinformation about its purpose.
The Board approved a major overhaul of the water banking system, reducing previously banked water credits to just 53% of historical amounts due to basin losses, while implementing a new Water Accounting System. Staff announced plans to update the Groundwater Sustainability Plan by early 2027, potentially revising groundwater level thresholds as some western areas have exceeded current limits. Agricultural water use accounts for two-thirds of the basin's 303,000 annual acre-feet of...
The board approved a special assessment of $22.29 per acre with notices going out next week and payment due by mid-November. A three-year contract was approved for a Daily ET monitoring tool at 55 cents per acre to provide real-time evapotranspiration data to growers. Staff discovered a significant water accounting discrepancy of approximately 5,800 acre-feet that needs resolution with the agency board.
Groundwater levels improved by 5 feet from last year, reaching depths similar to pre-drought conditions in 2014, thanks to 3 consecutive wet years. The district is shifting from targeted subsidence restrictions to basin-wide allocation reductions after modeling showed that localized pumping limits simply move problems to adjacent areas. Final 2026 water allocations will be decided by December or January after evaluating scenarios including reductions to transitional water allowances.
The water district board unanimously reaffirmed the engineer-manager's authority to initiate water management activities including recharge operations and exchange programs without requiring additional board approvals for each decision. The district experienced a significant loss of approximately 3,400 acre-feet of stored water in 2023 spill events when carryover supplies weren't evacuated before new water became available. The State Water Resources Control Board approved sending the Kern...
