Catch up on the latest GSA board meeting recaps anytime—at home, on the road, or on your tractor.
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The Monterey Subbasin Implementation Committee approved its April 23 minutes and reviewed a proposed valley-wide demand management framework with six agricultural and four domestic measures. Staff aims to bring the framework to the board this fall; no measures were adopted. Members urged timely, simpler implementation toward 2042. An ERA Economics consultant said scenarios run so far show demand management alone would not resolve seawater intrusion.
The board set FY 2026 fees at $13.83 per cropped acre and $5.32 per connection. DWR crop maps replace assessor land-use codes for the acreage calculation; mapped idle and unclassified acres also count. Staff updated the board on Salinas River and seawater-intrusion feasibility work under a $10.3 million grant, and on demand-management planning across subbasins.
The Water Board proposed a new graduated SGMA fee structure that would lower costs for most small and mid-sized farmers while increasing rates for large users. Key concerns included potential loopholes for large operators to avoid fees, use of budget reserves, and the fairness of layering new fees on top of existing GSA costs.
The board approved a $5.1 million budget with strong reserves, launched a new voluntary well registration program, and addressed key discoveries about well depths affecting subsidence management. They also planned management structure changes and extended the invoice payment deadline for 2025.
The 180/400-Foot Aquifer Subbasin Implementation Committee approved its April 3, April 14 and May 20 minutes. Injecting treated brackish groundwater instead of delivering it modeled slightly better than a medium-scale option; costs are unknown. Without coastal extraction, about 76,000 acre-feet per year of continuous injection could meet the 2040 seawater-intrusion threshold, but no supply was identified. Staff outlined a Salinas River alternatives study.
