Catch up on the latest GSA board meeting recaps anytime—at home, on the road, or on your tractor.
Proud Partners of
June deliveries tracked close to projections at just under 89,000 AF; July is expected to peak near 100,000 AF. A spike in canal side gate vandalism prompted added patrols and gate hardware fixes, with no further incidents reported since. Rate comparisons showed TID's irrigation and retail electric rates at the bottom across the board (with one exception) and also lowest statewide; a rate increase is scheduled next year.
Staff received updates on three programs: a multi-decade stream maintenance program covering Valley Water's stream facilities countywide (below 1,000 ft) under a new 10-year permit cycle, a direct potable reuse project targeting 24,000 acre-feet annually by 2035 at an estimated $2.45B, and two watershed master plans covering ~175 sq mi expected to finalize in spring 2027.
The board approved up to $28.5M in COP financing for a new administrative campus and booster stations, and awarded a $32.922M construction contract to Robert Clapper Construction. Staff also announced a July 23 public workshop on the M2 groundwater protection project.
A two-tier groundwater fee was adopted (May 18) and Tier 2 pre-billing corrections are underway for misclassified dry/grazing land. YSGA presented a Hungry Hollow White Paper detailing six voluntary projects with scenarios that could offset the area's modeled groundwater deficit; it is under landowner review. The Board approved a letter to the County on Focus Areas/well verification and coordination on the moratorium.
The board approved contracts for independent groundwater model review and to begin a new Prop 218 funding/outreach process. Members warned a cash shortfall could trigger state intervention, citing the Tule example where state staff discussed ~$35/acre-foot pumping fees plus annual well charges. A Prop 26 extraction fee was discussed as a possible option.
