The Planning Committee recommended that the Board of Directors seek Board of Supervisors adoption of a regional water planning forum concept and creation of an ad hoc committee. Staff expects a draft 2026 Strategic Plan for review in November. Amid discussion of a possible super El Niño, the Agency plans to request about $107,000 on October 13 for monitoring-station replacements, portable debris-flow monitors and communications upgrades.
The board approved four ongoing FY 2026-27 groundwater monitoring fees 3-2 and asked staff to return with funding options for de minimis well owners. It held a hearing on a $48.6 million recommended FY 2026-27 budget, with a proposed $5.3 million draw from fund balance; formal adoption is planned for June. Staff is pursuing legislation and a pending Measure AA request to ease well-owner costs.
The Board of Supervisors of the Monterey County Water Resources Agency voted 3-2 to support a request to ease restrictions on new Peninsula water meters; its letter did not mention desalination. It approved a deep aquifer monitoring plan and authorized a multi-agency agreement without opposition. Chair Lopez raised potential long-term risks to Salinas Valley water supplies, while staff said it was unclear which sources would serve new meters.
Staff outlined a $77 million San Antonio Dam spillway project, targeting construction in summer 2028 and completion and DSOD approval by December 2031. The general manager reported amended SB 104 grant language expanding eligible dam-safety work. The board recommended that supervisors adopt the deep aquifer monitoring plan and authorize a multi-agency MOU whose wording was still being finalized. The plan has 76 groundwater-elevation wells and 59 water-quality wells.
The four supervisors present unanimously approved prior meeting minutes and received a groundwater-project update. A proposed irrigation supply project targets an area with demand similar to CSIP’s roughly 20,000 acre-feet in annual deliveries; an update is expected in spring 2026. Three potential CSIP upgrades are estimated at $600,000, $30 million and $35 million, with further funding needed. Two state-funded subgrants allocated about $3.7 million with no required cost share.
