Catch up on the latest GSA board meeting recaps anytime—at home, on the road, or on your tractor.
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At its September 24 meeting, the Kern County Water Agency board voted to enter closed session on three existing litigation matters, one potential suit, and negotiations over State Water Project water price and terms. The agenda also scheduled hearings on the proposed fiscal year 2027-28 Zones of Benefit Report and an impasse, and listed golden mussel response items.
The board approved a $17.75 million canal operations budget, up about 27%, with approximately $3.4 million in non-labor golden mussel costs. Staff moved planned canal dewatering to late October amid concerns about possible winter flooding. The board also approved a $3.06 million general membership budget and a 2.9% cost-of-living adjustment for eligible employees.
The board authorized the General Manager to sign five MLRP project agreements, subject to final legal review. The roughly $4.7 million, 11-project pipeline includes Tri-State, which was not approved. The Governor signed a Round 2 grant extension through June 2028. About 80 accounts that reported cover cropping or fallowing in 2025 have not reported for 2026; staff urged prompt reporting to support upcoming true-up invoices.
The board approved a Confluence Engineering technical support contract for up to $167,798, covering state reporting and evaluation of possible monitoring-network expansion. Directors discussed seven proposed groundwater priorities through 2029 but did not adopt a plan. Staff identified three potential grant programs and expects to bring grant-consultant recommendations to the board in November.
Woodard & Curran modeled eight supply and recharge projects yielding about 65,000 acre-feet per year under assumed full buildout around 2042. The projects nearly eliminate modeled groundwater-level undesirable results; adding roughly 2,000 acre-feet per year of demand reduction in Non-District East eliminates the remaining ones. The GSA must also demonstrate sustainability through management actions alone. Full project benefits depend on implementation.
