1. Non-District East action plan targets the 2027 growing season. Len Mason of Geosyntec Consultants outlined a two-phase approach to the Non-District East (NDE) Groundwater Use Management Program. The proposed first phase would give landowners an accounting platform to view allocations and track estimated use, with the aim of letting them learn the system without immediate enforcement pressure. It is not a guaranteed penalty-free period. More complex policies—including potential transfers, demand-management incentives, enforcement procedures and appeals—are targeted for a second phase in the 2028 growing season. The team targets an administrative draft in early November 2026, a final draft for GSA consideration by January 1, 2027, and implementation of the initial plan by January 31, 2027. The committee did not vote on the plan.
2. Preliminary review supports action while identifying uncertainty. Mike Tietze, hydrogeologist and general manager of the East Turlock Subbasin GSA, said his third-party review had found no fatal flaw in the groundwater model. He pointed to long-term groundwater declines and said demand reduction is necessary, despite some recent leveling in monitoring-well readings. He described the initial reduction target—roughly 16,000 acre-feet for NDE, where the Department of Water Resources identifies just over 30,000 acres of fields, a subset of which is irrigated primarily with groundwater—as probably not far off, while noting that implementation details still need examination. He called the 2030–2035 target less certain and suggested the 2035–2040 demand-reduction target might be revised downward as more data become available. No change was approved. The review will also examine cross-boundary pumping effects and limited monitoring coverage in eastern NDE.
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