Catch up on the latest GSA board meeting recaps anytime—at home, on the road, or on your tractor.
Proud Partners of
The board approved major changes to the Miller fallowing program, extending the look-back period from 2 to 5 years and eliminating future deadlines for returning land to production. Zach Merkel was appointed to fill a vacant director position through 2027, while the board explored contracting for treasurer duties due to the significant time commitment. Public comments raised concerns that core Groundwater Sustainability Plan components remain unimplemented years later, questioning whether basin-wide management is appropriate given localized groundwater issues.
The committee approved rules for a Domestic Well Mitigation Program offering up to $35,000 per property for landowners whose wells failed since 2020 due to groundwater decline, and recommended hiring Davids Engineering for $514,000 to manage the program despite farmer concerns about costs. They also approved moving to a single satellite measurement provider (Hydrosat) to save approximately $300,000 annually, though this decision faced opposition since roughly half of current growers will be forced to switch systems from their existing providers.
The district faces increased costs of approximately $700,000 due to new USDA loan requirements forcing interim financing for a $10.2 million wastewater treatment plant project. Meanwhile, a water infrastructure project was completed nearly $100,000 under budget at $6.8 million. Multiple community members raised concerns about water rate affordability, particularly affecting elderly residents on fixed incomes, prompting discussions about potential assistance programs.
Board adopted a comprehensive 30-year water supply master plan emphasizing lower-cost strategies including recycled water projects and reservoir participation. They maintained the existing agricultural water rate policy capping farm water charges at 10% of municipal rates to support local farming communities. Additionally, the board approved tripling participation in the Sites Reservoir project by acquiring additional storage capacity for $618,500.
The board approved plans for six new groundwater monitoring wells to address data gaps, with individual GSAs taking ownership and maintenance responsibilities. A major demand management program is being developed to reduce groundwater overdraft by 95,000 acre-feet annually, though Category A projects could lower this to 56,000 acre-feet that GSAs must voluntarily allocate among themselves by December 2026. Technical consultants are conducting detailed reviews to improve groundwater model accuracy through parcel-by-parcel validation of precipitation data and other inputs.
