Catch up on the latest GSA board meeting recaps anytime—at home, on the road, or on your tractor.
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Board approved procuring Symmetrix mag meters for all active grower wells and tying them into district telemetry for real-time access. Staff said growers would handle ongoing upkeep (calibration/batteries) and discussed coordinating antenna placement. Staff flagged a very strong 2027 El Niño potential and said Franklin Canal may go offline in early Nov., returning in Jan. (with early reopen possible).
The board voted 10–1 to select Portfolio 3A as the preferred implementation pathway for addressing seawater intrusion. A draft funding memo showed illustrative costs of roughly $600–$1,200 per irrigated acre per year (2036 dollars) under high external funding assumptions; a director warned these figures could exceed farm profits. Agricultural demand management, assumed at a 10% reduction, drew significant concern, with some directors pushing for flexible, incentive-based approaches.
The board voted 6-0 to add previously adopted Phase 2 fees, beginning in fiscal year 2026/2027, to applicable opt-in and misclassified land-use fee calculations and to calculate effective precipitation for certain Phase 1 appeal parcels using irrigated acreage. Inactive parcel, field and riparian area delineations close August 31. Valley Eco requested a Bear Creek Ranch budget shift; an MLRP extension decision is expected in September.
The board approved Rincon Consultants' Work Order No. 14 for field monitoring services for Water Year 2026/2027 at a total authorization of $240,691, potentially drawing $15,691 beyond the $225,000 budgeted amount from the agency's contingency funds. Member agency extraction fee invoices for FY 2026/2027 totaled $644,952, while private well invoices for January–June 2026 totaled $15,108 to close out FY 2025/2026.
Growers face a Sept. 1 deadline to commit to surface water, and staff urged use of available surface water. Groundwater pumping is now metered and being monitored, including discussion of the existing $5,000 penalty for unreported active wells. A Friant-Kern subsidence plan is due by year-end; possible tighter pumping/recharge rules were discussed.
