Catch up on the latest GSA board meeting recaps anytime—at home, on the road, or on your tractor.
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Water orders close at 5 p.m. October 23; the last day to complete orders is October 28. Staff backed life-extension planning for three small hydro plants and further study of Hickman; the board took no workshop action. Directors approved a parcel abandonment and an amendment enabling San Francisco to fund its share of the ongoing Powerhouse Riffles Project. September Turlock Lake releases were about 8,000 acre-feet below projections, and water orders set a September record.
Westlands approved about 8,000 acre-feet of cushion-related and system gain water for existing unfulfilled requests, with seven days to decline. Up to about 28,300 acre-feet of drought pool water remains contingent on arrangements with Reclamation. The board also approved mostly lower water rates retroactive to March 1, 2026. Staff outlined wet-weather recharge options and a major transmission constraint for the Valley Clean Infrastructure Plan.
The State Water Resources Control Board unanimously adopted a utility wildfire order effective October 20, 2027, and certified its programmatic environmental impact report. Staff will return with a proposed erosivity pathway and pesticide-reporting recommendations. Water Year 2026 tied for the warmest on record, with a potentially very strong El Niño ahead. Parts of the Scott River went dry; statewide performance target achievement improved in fiscal year 2025–26.
Vice President McKenna relayed a 70–80% chance of an exceptionally wet winter. Staff reported no agency facility damage from Tropical Storm Rachel’s creek flows and is investigating sewer inflow at Cathedral Canyon Lift Station. Mission Creek and Indio Subbasin groundwater workshops are upcoming. The board approved a salary chart adding an Environmental Compliance Coordinator and authorized an easement-rights transaction for $5,000 plus a $700 fee.
The board honored Rene Magdaleno for 20 years of service and accepted an unmodified financial audit. Army representatives reported shrinking Fort Ord groundwater plumes and ongoing PFAS investigations; district supply wells have no reported PFAS detections. A rate-loading error underbilled about 11,500 accounts by roughly $255,000, followed by delayed bills and confusing statements. Staff apologized, suspended September and October late fees, and revised billing procedures.
