Catch up on the latest GSA board meeting recaps anytime—on the road, on your tractor, or at home.
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.
Water supply was discussed as favorable despite weak snowpack: 2,962 AF carryover and a 12,000 AF Lower Tule transfer were cited as a cushion. The Board approved a resolution stating Terra Bella GSA is operating under the ETGSA GSP until consultant updates. Eastern Tule GSA wind-down, closeout billing/reimbursements, and audit prep were discussed.
