Catch up on the latest GSA board meeting recaps anytime—on the road, on your tractor, or at home.
At their “State of the Subbasin” event, three GSAs delivered news growers had been waiting for: they'd avoided state probation. After revising their plans twice, Greater Kaweah, Mid-Kaweah, and East Kaweah made their coordination agreement operational with nine functional technical teams and unified monitoring across the basin. Now they're focused on three implementation priorities—water quality monitoring, land subsidence mitigation, and groundwater level management. Here's how they ...
A $1.5 million demonstration garden project was approved to showcase drought-tolerant landscaping and water-efficient irrigation systems. Major baylands restoration projects advanced with completion of flood protection levees in Alviso and approval of creek realignment work that will restore natural sediment flow to marshes. A new state mandate now requires coordinated regional shoreline adaptation planning across all San Francisco Bay municipalities to address sea level rise impacts.
The board approved a one-year $110,625 contract for AI predictive modeling technology to help prioritize pipeline repairs and reduce service disruptions. Staff discovered a significant billing error where AT&T was overcharged approximately $411,000 over four years due to incorrect meter readings. Critical infrastructure projects in the Butterball area face delays and increased costs due to county requirements for full street repaving when utilities make repairs.
The water district approved its first rate increases since 2020, adding $7-10 monthly to customer bills over five years to fund $109 million in critical infrastructure projects including water treatment and pipeline improvements. The board also completed environmental review for major solar installations and rejected construction bids for two sewer projects due to irregularities, requiring re-advertising within two months.
Drought Resilience Interagency & Partners (DRIP) Collaborative Meeting: California's drought preparedness efforts are shifting focus from long-term recommendations to emergency response planning for 2026 due to potential consecutive dry years and limited weather forecasting accuracy. The state faces a critical challenge with dry well response, currently spending $2 million monthly to support over 1,000 homes without water after relatively average water years. Officials remain concerned...
