$2 Million Budget Approved - Half from State Grants
The board approved $2 million in consultant contracts for fiscal year 2025-26, with approximately half funded by MLRP state grants. Major contracts include Formation Environmental ($445k), ESA ($261k), EKI ($309k), and Provost & Pritchard ($94k), which growers questioned but board explained is necessary to avoid state takeover costing 5x more with no farmer assistance.
Groundwater Use Fee Bills Now Being Mailed
The first-ever groundwater use fee invoices are being sent to landowners with help systems in place including office hours, phone line, and email support. Less than 50% of accounts are currently claimed on the online platform, but growers don't need to log in for billing to proceed.
LandIQ Data Delays Frustrate Growers
Multiple growers raised concerns about 60-90 day delays in receiving ET data, making real-time irrigation management difficult. Staff acknowledged this as a major issue and committed to exploring faster alternatives while maintaining accuracy for official water accounting.
Board Leadership Changes: Sarah Woolf sworn in as new Chairman with Dirk Ulrich as Vice Chairman; Jeanne Zolezzi added as Eastside Water District alternate; Christy McKinnon sworn in as GSA Treasurer.
Stanford WaterOne Partnership: Stanford representatives offered AI-powered water tracking tools and access to grants/student interns to potentially reduce future consultant costs.
Fallowing Rules Clarified: Orchards must be physically removed, not just stop irrigation, to qualify as fallow, though implementation standards may allow some timing flexibility.
Surface Water & Recharge Credits: Phase 2 rules will establish frameworks for irrigation and recharge credits to help growers manage allocations.
Cover Crop Benefits: Cover crop adjustments only apply to actively irrigated fields, not self-directed fallow land.
Field Boundary Issues: Staff committed to developing annual boundary update processes to address grower concerns about LandIQ field mapping accuracy.
Eastside Fee Relief: East Side Water District voted not to collect additional capital fees, reducing overall grower costs by approximately half.
July 24, 2025, 9:00 AM at Cortez Hall
Contact: GSA website, help phone line, office hours after each board meeting
