Catch up on the latest GSA board meeting recaps anytime—at home, on the road, or on your tractor.
Proud Partners of
Lindo Channel appears to provide ~100 acre-feet/day of recharge when flowing, with a final report due in early April. Presentations suggested the ~10,000 AF/year overdraft can be managed via recharge, surface water supply, and demand reduction—especially extended orchard replacement. Two surface-water options were presented, but costs exceed pumping rates, so incentives/grants may be needed.
Board approved the Self Help Enterprises agreement to help administer the domestic well mitigation program (application review, interim emergency water, and long-term mitigation recommendations). Non-District East must submit an Action Plan by Nov 1, 2026 (implement by Jan 31, 2027); Stanislaus County said it hopes to have a consultant selected by end of April. MID’s fee/budget resolution was shared; members asked for a future discussion item for more detail.
A groundwater storage credit policy remains in development after agencies agreed to break a broad draft resolution into smaller, topic-specific policies—nothing was adopted. Before any policy is finalized, technical staff will stress-test the basin model using drought scenarios to evaluate pumping impacts. Private well outreach will continue; a possible private-user workshop and a potential participation threshold (e.g., 25 acre-feet/year) were discussed but not finalized.
The board approved a $149,820 not-to-exceed contract with Zanjero for a basin-wide net groundwater impact accounting framework, funded through existing assessments. ED Berry said GSAs must advance demand management planning per the GSP. Kleinfelder presented plans for ~$2M federal ARPA-funded monitoring and data projects.
Staff reported precip ~80% of normal but snowpack ~46%, with Delta export constraints; SWP allocation could be ~25–30%. Staff presented the 2025 Ag Water Management Plan update noting ~68,000 irrigated acres (down ~13,000). Board voted to set DCP planning funding at 1% for the 2026–27 window pending unmet conditions.
