Catch up on the latest GSA board meeting recaps anytime—at home, on the road, or on your tractor.
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The Executive Committee opposed adding DWR and Riverside County LAFCO meetings as standing compensable events and did not support adding a ticketed Desert Hot Springs wellness retreat. The October 20 board agenda includes an already-budgeted Environmental Compliance Coordinator position that must be added to the salary chart before it is filled, plus a proposed sale of part of a Whitewater Mutual easement.
The board approved Resolution 046: FY28 fees use estimated pumping, while 2027 meter data inform FY29 fees. Unmetered pumping after January 1, 2027 faces FY29 fees based on estimated pumping and the highest crop factor. Meters bought after October 14 must have encoder output. Owners must read meters monthly and report quarterly until AMI data is verified. The tampering fee rises from $180 to $300 and covers pulse settings.
The board rejected Alternative 3’s package of minimum thresholds 40 feet below objectives and early-warning levels 15 feet below them outside Chico, 2–3. It sent threshold options, early-warning language and the non-dry-year condition to its advisory committee. In a separate 4–1 vote, it directed staff to draft removal of that condition; no plan amendment was adopted. Residents described wells under strain. The board approved a Davids Engineering agreement.
The board discussed a possible sales program for unused Nacimiento water, but buyer costs and contract terms remain unsettled and may be unaffordable for growers. Lee reported that the county considers El Niño present and is preparing for possible heavy rain, although storms are not assured. Members discussed on-farm stormwater capture and possible educational outreach with a local resource conservation district.
With a 100% Class 1 allocation and a possible exchange, staff said available water could last through an average February; the reported 11,797 acre-feet was a PID-water balance, not total supply. Keller said northern canal reaches could shut in late October, while district staff expected water into November. Recharge earthwork neared completion, and Superior Head Construction submitted a $1,357,702 low bid for the pipeline, targeted for January completion.
