Catch up on the latest GSA board meeting recaps anytime—at home, on the road, or on your tractor.
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Staff reported the State Water Board may propose an interim plan for the Tule Subbasin including a pumping moratorium near the Friant Kern Canal, with notices beginning in January and a possible April public hearing starting next year. Counsel reviewed the Tulare Lake case where plaintiffs were deemed likely to succeed but must still pay fees during litigation. Storage was about 29,919 AF as of Sept. 6; options for remaining water were discussed.
The board declared a golden mussel emergency and authorized a district-wide STI-62 maintenance-dose treatment program subject to legal review, targeting an Oct. 1 start. A 25 million dollar 10-year fixed-rate note at about 4.4 percent through Webster Bank was approved to bridge TCP facility needs and later support linear generators. Staff reported about 27,000 acres fallowed has substantially reduced overdraft while the district challenges state subsidence modeling under SGMA.
The board approved technical memoranda responding to DWRs clarification request on the GSP Amendment and 2025 Periodic Evaluation, with an October 1 submission deadline. Staff said a demand management MOU is being developed for GSA board consideration by the end of 2026, with programs discussed as developed in 2027 and implemented in 2028. The board also approved an updated effective precipitation methodology for annual groundwater accounting.
Staff said San Luis Reservoir could fill this winter, with up to a 93% chance by Feb. 2027, putting 2026 carryover at risk after Jan. 1 and prompting growers to consider prompt recharge requests. SB 872 would create a California Aqueduct subsidence repair fund and awaits the governors action by end of September. Sites Reservoir nears a Phase 2 milestone with a grower workshop planned for early October.
Growers were encouraged to use remaining allocation ahead of an early-November drawdown (expected Nov 5–10) after August deliveries were just under 5,000 AF vs. ~8,000 AF expected. The board approved joining North Kern's aquifer injection feasibility study on subsidence along the Friant-Kern Canal. Staff discussed an October treatment window and flushing lines with district water.
