May 08, 2025 Special GSA Meeting

[1. CALL TO ORDER/ROLL CALL]

[00:00:03]

OKAY, I'M GOING TO CALL. I'M GOING TO CALL THE MEETING TO ORDER THE MAY 8TH MERCED SUBBASIN GSA BOARD MEETING.

CAN WE CALL THE CALL THE ROLL, PLEASE? MR. CHAIR, YOU HAVE A QUORUM. THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

OKAY. WITH THAT, WE'LL DO THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE. MIKE, WOULD YOU LIKE TO LEAD US IN THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE? READY, PLEDGE. I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

AND TO THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS. ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL.

[3. CLOSED SESSION]

GOOD AFTERNOON AND WELCOME TO THE MAY 8TH MEETING OF THE MERCED SUBBASIN GSA.

I'LL CALL IT TO ORDER AND ASK FOR A CALL OF THE ROLL.

AND MR. CHAIR. YOU HAVE A QUORUM. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU.

NOW, BOB, WOULD YOU LIKE TO LEAD US IN THE PLEDGE? READY PLEDGE. I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

AND TO THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS. ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL.

THANK YOU. WE DID HAVE A CLOSED SESSION THIS AFTERNOON AND NOTHING TO REPORT.

[4. PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD]

THIS IS YOUR OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK ON ANY ITEM UNDER OUR BOARD'S JURISDICTION INCLUDING ITEMS ON THE BOARD'S AGENDA.

TESTIMONY IS LIMITED TO THREE MINUTES.

HI, I'M JOHN MCCLARY. WE FARM EAST OF LLANADA, AND I JUST HAD A FEW THINGS TO SAY.

I WAS JUST CURIOUS ON THESE FEES. IS THERE GOING TO BE LIKE A CAP OR SOMETHING, YOU KNOW, EACH YEAR THEY CAN ONLY GO UP X AMOUNT? OR IS THERE, YOU KNOW, AND I KNOW YOU GUYS CAN'T ANSWER, BUT THIS IS JUST SOMETHING I'M TRYING TO, YOU KNOW, PLAY OUT IN MY MIND BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, IF THEY GO UP 100% OR 200% IN A YEAR, THAT'S A LOT TO TRY TO PUT IN YOUR BUDGET.

AND THEN I WAS LOOKING ON THE INTERNET, AND IT LOOKS LIKE THE STATE WASN'T GOING TO START ENFORCING THIS UNTIL 2027.

IT LOOKS LIKE FROM WHAT I UNDERSTOOD, OR MAYBE I MISUNDERSTOOD IN 2026, WE'RE GOING TO START ENFORCING.

SO I DON'T KNOW. I MEAN, EVERY YEAR MAKES A DIFFERENCE.

AND IN MY OPINION AND THEN THE OTHER THING THAT JUST A SUGGESTION ABOUT YOU KNOW, ON THE WEBSITE THAT MAYBE, YOU KNOW, WHEN THERE'S IMPORTANT MILESTONES OR YOU KNOW, DATES THAT NEED TO BE MET FOR CERTAIN CRITERIA THAT THEY'RE SORT OF UNDERLINED AND YOU KNOW, PEOPLE BECAUSE IT'S HARD TO SORT OF NAVIGATE THE WHOLE THE WHOLE WEBSITE, IN MY OPINION. AND THEN THE OTHER THING TOO IS, YOU KNOW, THE AND I'M NOT SURE WHERE YOU GUYS FIT IN ON THIS, BUT I KNOW MIDS GOT A BUNCH OF DEEP WELLS. AND IF WE'RE GOING TO BE RESTRICTED, I FEEL LIKE THEY SHOULD BE RESTRICTED TOO.

AND SO I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S HAPPENING, BUT ANYWAY, THAT'S ALL I GOT TO SAY.

OKAY. THANK YOU, THANK YOU. ANYONE ELSE? OKAY.

SEEING NONE, WE'LL CLOSE. PUBLIC COMMENT. WE'LL MOVE TO ITEM FIVE, THE CONSENT CALENDAR.

[5. CONSENT CALENDAR]

AND THAT ALSO INCLUDES THE INVOICES. YEAH. THAT'S CONSENT.

YEAH. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU. IS THERE A SECOND? SECOND? OKAY. OKAY. SO I HAVE A MOTION BY DIRECTOR KELLY AND A SECOND BY DIRECTOR GALLO.

OPEN UP FOR PUBLIC COMMENT. SEEING NONE, WE'LL CLOSE PUBLIC COMMENT.

[00:05:03]

AYE. ANY OPPOSED? SAME SIGN. MOTION CARRIES UNANIMOUSLY FIVE ZERO.

[6. MULTIBENEFIT LAND REPURPOSING PROGRAM]

WE MADE A DETERMINATION THAT NONE OF THE PROJECTS ADEQUATELY MET THE DEPARTMENT OF CONSERVATION'S REQUIREMENTS FOR MEANINGFUL BENEFITS TO DISADVANTAGED COMMUNITIES.

THEREFORE, WE WITHHELD ABOUT $1.2 MILLION FOR ANOTHER PROJECT TO SHOW UP THAT WOULD DIRECTLY BENEFIT A DISADVANTAGED COMMUNITY.

THIS RFP IS OFFICIALLY OPENED. RIGHT NOW. JUST SOME REMINDERS OF THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE PROGRAM.

ANY PROJECTS DELIVERED UNDER THIS UNDER THIS PROPOSAL WOULD NEED TO CONVERT LAND, ADDED IRRIGATED AGRICULTURE.

IT WOULD HAVE TO PROVIDE TANGIBLE BENEFITS TO DISADVANTAGED COMMUNITIES.

OFTENTIMES THIS IS ONE OF THE CHALLENGES WITH MLRP AND THIS PARTICULAR ITEM PROXIMITY COMES INTO PLAY OFTENTIMES WHEN YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT DISADVANTAGED COMMUNITIES.

SO THERE ARE REGIONS OF MERCED SUBBASIN THAT OR THAT MAY BE MORE APPLICABLE FOR DISADVANTAGED COMMUNITY APPLICATIONS.

AND THEN LASTLY, AND THIS IS A BIG ONE AND WHY WE'RE CONTINUOUSLY PUSHING SO HARD ON MLRP PACE IS THAT PROJECTS HAVE TO BE COMPLETED THAT BE BUILT BY MARCH OF 27, RIGHT. SO ANYTHING THAT IS DONE THAT THOSE PROJECTS HAVE TO BE COMPLETED BY MARCH OF 27.

MORE INFORMATION AND SOLICITATION DOCUMENTS CAN BE FOUND AT MERCEDMLRP.ORG.

FOLKS CAN ALSO GET INTO THE WEBSITE AND CONTACT FOLKS FOR TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE, OR FIND FOLKS TO HAVE CONVERSATIONS OR QUESTIONS, HASH OUT QUESTIONS WITH. I'LL PAUSE THERE. ACTUALLY, I'M NOT GOING TO PAUSE THERE.

I'M GOING TO GO TO THE NEXT THING. CURRENTLY THERE ARE THREE UNDER OUR LAST IMPLEMENTATION PROPOSAL THROUGH MLRP.

THERE ARE THREE PROJECTS AT DEPARTMENT OF CONSERVATION GOING REVIEW FOR APPROVAL FOR FUNDING.

NONE OF THESE PROJECTS ARE UNDER CONTRACT YET.

WE HAVE SORT OF REVIEWED THEM REGIONALLY. BUT DOC, BEFORE WE ALLOCATE IMPLEMENTATION MONEY, DOC HAS TO SIGN OFF ON ALL PROJECTS. WE DON'T WANT TO GO INTO BAD CONTRACTS.

AND SO BEFORE ANY OF THESE GO INTO CONTRACT THEY'LL HAVE TO GET APPROVAL FROM DOC.

WE EXPECT THAT TO COME DOWN WITHIN THE NEXT COUPLE OF WEEKS.

VALLEY ECO IS CURRENTLY WORKING WITH ON THOSE THREE PROJECTS, WITH PROJECT APPLICANTS TO INTEGRATE REQUESTS FROM BOTH THE STAKEHOLDER ADVISORY COMMITTEE, MEMBERS OF THE BOARD RANKING COMMITTEE.

WHEN THESE WERE RANKED, WE SUBMITTED THEM TO THE DEPARTMENT SORT OF KNOWING THAT WE WOULD STILL HAVE TO DO SOME NEGOTIATIONS AND CONTRACTING.

TO BE SUPER FRANK, IT'S DIFFICULT. I FEEL MLRP IS IN THIS NEGOTIATING SPACE BETWEEN WATER AND COMMUNITY NEEDS AND AGRICULTURAL ECONOMIC BASELINE, AND THAT NEGOTIATING SLIVER IS DIFFICULT TO HIT.

AND SO IT'S NOT EASY. BUT I'M PRETTY I'M PRETTY OPTIMISTIC THAT WE'LL BE ABLE TO CONTINUE TO WORK OUT SOME AGREEMENTS OVER THE WITH THESE THREE PROJECTS.

ON A LESS EXCITING NOTE ONE OF THE PROJECTS IN MLRP, ONE OF THE FOUR INITIAL IMPLEMENTATION PROJECTS, DID FALL OUT AND DECLINE. THAT PROJECT WAS NOTED AS PROJECT ONE.

SO THAT WAS THE MOVEMENT OF THAT PROPERTY OFF OF SANDY MUSH THROUGH DUCKS UNLIMITED AND THEIR PARTNERS TO THE NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE SYSTEM.

SO ESSENTIALLY A RELATIVELY COMPLEX PROCESS, BUT IN SIMPLE IN SIMPLICITY, MOVING THAT AGRICULTURAL LAND OVER TO THE US FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE IN THE LONG TERM, THE MLRP PROGRAM WAS ESSENTIALLY MUCKING UP THE PROCESS TO GET A FEDERAL LAND ACQUISITION.

SO WE REALLY WE WERE REALLY TRYING TO REALLY WHAT WE WERE TRYING TO GET IS THE WELLS TURNED OFF AND GROUNDWATER PUMPED, PUMPING TO STOP ON THAT UNIT. THE AND THAT REQUEST WAS SORT OF INTERFERING WITH THE NEGOTIATIONS WITH THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, WHO WANTS TO MAINTAIN THEIR ENTIRE RIGHT ON THE PROPERTY.

AND SO WE KIND OF FLAGGED THAT AS A DIFFICULT PROJECT ANYWAY, GIVEN THE ULTIMATE TRANSFER TO THE FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE.

BUT IT'S KIND OF A BUMMER BECAUSE I THOUGHT IT WAS A PRETTY, PRETTY NEAT PROJECT OVERALL.

THE GOING FORWARD, WE'RE GOING TO ATTACK. SO THIS MEANS THAT THERE IS FUNDING STILL AVAILABLE UNDER THAT INITIAL SOLICITATION.

SO GOING FORWARD, WE'RE GOING TO REOPEN THAT SOLICITATION OFFICIALLY IN TWO WEEKS OR TWO WEEKS FROM TOMORROW.

SO THAT WOULD BE THE 23RD. SO AS OF THE 23RD, THERE'LL BE A NEW SOLICITATION AVAILABLE UP ON THE WEBSITE IF FOLKS WANT TO APPLY FOR IT.

[00:10:07]

ONE IS WE'RE GOING TO GO BACK TO THE INITIAL GROUP OF APPLICANTS AND EVALUATE WHETHER THOSE PROJECTS CAN IMPROVE AND GET FOR FUNDING AND GET THEM POTENTIALLY ENROLLED INTO THAT SLOT. SECONDARILY, WE'LL GO TO THE TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE REQUEST.

SO IN THE PROCESS OF THIS INITIAL APPLICATION, THERE WAS ABOUT A DOZEN LANDOWNERS THAT HAD COME TO VALLEY ECO OR OTHER PARTNERS AND ASKED US TO HASH OUT SOME PERSPECTIVE IDEAS, SOME OF WHICH WERE VERY COOL AND VIABLE WITHIN THE MLRP PROGRAM.

SO WE'LL GO BACK TO THOSE TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE FOLKS AS WELL, TO EVALUATE WHETHER WE CAN QUICKLY RECRUIT A PROJECT.

AND THEN LASTLY, IF WE ARE ON THAT TIMELINE THAT 2027 TIMELINE.

AND SO LASTLY, IF WE FAIL TO GET A PROJECT THROUGH THESE PATHWAYS, THE BACKUP STRATEGY WILL BE THAT MLP PARTNERS WILL NEED TO DEVELOP A PROJECT AND SUBMIT THAT PROJECT TO THE GSA AS A BACKSTOP TO MAKE SURE THAT WE GET THESE FUNDS ALLOCATED.

SO HOPEFULLY I DON'T BELIEVE IT'LL COME TO THAT ACTION, BUT THAT IS A BACKSTOP IF WE NEED IT.

SO THAT WAS A LOT AT ONCE. BUT IN A IN A NUTSHELL, THIS RFP FOR A DISADVANTAGED COMMUNITY PROJECT IS OPEN NOW.

WE EXPECT TO REOPEN FUNDING AVAILABILITY WITHIN TWO WEEKS FROM TOMORROW FOR JUST THE BROADER MLRP PROGRAM ON A ROLLING BASIS.

AND I'LL PAUSE THERE FOR QUESTIONS OF THE BOARD AND THEN THE PUBLIC.

YEAH, GO AHEAD AND REFRESH MY MEMORY. WHAT WAS THE AMOUNT THAT WAS ALLOCATED TO THE NUMBER ONE.

IT WAS APPROXIMATELY 1.1 MILLION. I APOLOGIZE IF I'M OFF BY A LITTLE BIT, BUT ABOUT $1.1 MILLION WAS ALLOCATED THERE.

ANYBODY ELSE? NO. IS THERE ANY PUBLIC COMMENT? SEEING NONE. WE'LL CLOSE PUBLIC COMMENT. THANK YOU REN.

[7. ANALYSIS OF MERCED SUBBASIN ALLOCATION WITH CONSIDERATION OF MULTIAQUIFER SYSTEM]

OKAY. THANK YOU. GO AHEAD. SO TODAY I'LL BE GIVING AN UPDATE ON THE ANALYSIS OF THE MERCED SUBBASIN ALLOCATION WITH CONSIDERATION OF THE MULTI AQUIFER SYSTEM, AS THIS TITLE SLIDE SAYS. THIS WAS WORK THAT WAS INITIATED IN EARLY 2024 AND PRESENTED AT THAT TIME IN SPRING 2024, TO THE ONE OF THE AD HOC COMMITTEES OF THE GSA BOARD.

AND THEN IT WAS, YOU KNOW, SORT OF SET TO THE SIDE AS OTHER ALLOCATION TOPICS WERE YOU KNOW, WORKED THROUGH IN THE LATTER HALF OF 2025 OR 2024.

AND THEN HAS, YOU KNOW, JUST BEEN RECENTLY REVISITED WITH PRESENTATION GIVEN TO THE TECHNICAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE EARLIER IN APRIL. AND NOW HERE TO THIS BOARD.

SO THIS IS JUST AN OUTLINE OF WHAT I'LL BE TALKING THROUGH.

IT'S PRETTY TECHNICAL. BUT I'LL, YOU KNOW, KEEP IT KEEP IT AS CLEAR AS POSSIBLE.

FIRST TALKING A BIT ABOUT JUST REVIEWING THE BASINS HYDRO STRATIGRAPHY.

SO THE DIFFERENT GEOLOGIC LAYERS, INCLUDING THE CORCORAN CLAY AND THE DEFINITION OF ABOVE AND BELOW CORCORAN CLAY AQUIFERS AND THEIR EXTENT.

THEN I'LL TALK ABOUT INFORMATION THAT WAS COMPILED ABOUT PUMPING DISTRIBUTION BY AQUIFER BASED ON A COUPLE OF DIFFERENT SOURCES OF DATA, NAMELY THE WELL COMPLETION REPORTS AND INFORMATION FROM THE NUMERICAL GROUNDWATER MODEL CALLED THE MERCED.

THEN I'LL TALK THROUGH THE RELATIONSHIP THAT WE'VE OBSERVED BETWEEN PUMPING AND GROUNDWATER LEVELS AND LAND SUBSIDENCE.

I GUESS I SHOULD MENTION THAT, YOU KNOW, THE DRIVING MOTIVATION BEHIND THIS, THIS WHOLE TOPIC IS YOU KNOW, ONGOING CONCERNS ABOUT LAND SUBSIDENCE IN PORTIONS OF THE SUBBASIN.

AND THEN I'LL TALK JUST WRAPPING IT UP WITH SOME WORK THAT HAS NOT BEEN COMPLETED.

SOMETHING THAT WE'VE STARTED TO DISCUSS WITH YOU KNOW, WITH GSA STAFF AND WITH THE TECH.

AND I'LL PRESENT SORT OF THE, THE OUTLINE OF WHAT THAT WORK WOULD LOOK LIKE.

IT'S A, YOU KNOW, POTENTIAL APPROACH TO EXAMINING AND IDENTIFYING CERTAIN THRESHOLDS OF WATER LEVELS THAT THAT CORRESPOND TO INCREASED RATES OF

[00:15:09]

AND YOU CAN SEE A COUPLE OF DIFFERENT SHADES OF BLUE IN THAT WESTERN PORTION.

THE DARKER COLORED BLUE IS THE CONFINED AQUIFER SYSTEM BELOW CORCORAN CLAY.

THE THIN BROWN LAYER IS THE CORCORAN CLAY ITSELF.

AND THEN ABOVE THAT IS THE SORT OF LIGHTER SHADE OF BLUE IS THE UNCONFINED ABOVE CORCORAN CLAY AQUIFER AND THE CORCORAN CLAY ITSELF WHICH IS A, YOU KNOW, AS THE NAME SUGGESTS, IT'S A REGIONAL THICK CLAY LAYER THAT SERVES AS A BARRIER TO FLOW EXCEPT WHERE IT'S, YOU KNOW, BREACHED THROUGH BY WELLS OR JUST THROUGH YOU KNOW, GEOLOGIC EROSION TO CREATE THIN SPOTS, BUT JUST GENERALLY PRETTY EXTENSIVE AND SERVES AS A REGIONAL CONFINING LAYER.

TO THE EAST OF THE EDGE OF THE CORCORAN CLAY WHERE IT DOES NOT EXIST IT'S KNOWN AS THE OUTSIDE OF CORCORAN CLAY AQUIFER.

SO THAT'S THE THIRD PRINCIPAL AQUIFER IN THIS BASIN.

OTHER THINGS SHOWN IN THIS TABLE HERE BESIDES THE NAMES OF THESE AQUIFERS IS YOU CAN SEE SOME NUMBERS ON THE LEFT COLUMN.

THOSE ARE THE LAYERS WITHIN THE MERCED GROUNDWATER MODEL THAT CORRESPOND TO THESE AQUIFERS.

SO LAYERS ONE AND TWO OF THE MODEL ARE PARTS OF THE ABOVE CORCORAN CLAY AQUIFER.

AND THEN LAYERS THREE, FOUR, FIVE AND SIX ARE ALL BELOW THE CORCORAN CLAY.

LAYER NUMBER SIX IS, YOU KNOW, KIND OF NOT AN ACTIVE LAYER IN THE MODEL NECESSARILY.

SO IT'S REALLY JUST LAYERS THREE, FOUR AND FIVE THAT ARE COMPRISED OF BELOW CORCORAN CLAY AQUIFER.

SO HERE I'M SHOWING A COUPLE OF DIFFERENT MAPS OF THE BASIN RELATED TO THE CORCORAN CLAY.

YOU CAN SEE IN EACH MAP THE, THE SHADED COLORED AREA IS THE PORTION OF THE BASIN WHERE THE CORCORAN CLAY EXISTS, SO MAINLY ON THE WESTERN HALF OF THE BASIN ON THE LEFT SIDE IS THE THICKNESS WITH, YOU KNOW, SOME OF THE DARKER SHADES OF, OF ORANGE AND BROWN CORRESPONDING TO THE THICKER, THICKER AREAS REACHING, YOU KNOW, 60 TO 80FT THICK AND IN THE DEEP IN THE THICKEST SPOTS, AND, YOU KNOW, GENERALLY MORE IN THE SORT OF 20 TO 40FT THICK THICKNESS. AND THEN ON THE RIGHT SIDE, WE SEE THE DEPTH OF THIS CORCORAN CLAY.

AND THIS IS THE DEPTH TO THE TOP OF THE LAYER.

AND YOU KNOW, YOU CAN SEE THAT IT'S A LITTLE BIT SHALLOWER ON THE EAST.

AND THEN IT GETS DEEPER AS YOU MOVE TOWARDS THE WEST TO DEPTHS, YOU KNOW, ROUGHLY AROUND 150, SOMETIMES 200FT DEEP AT ITS DEEPEST ON THE BOTTOM.

THE SMALL INSET MAP ON THE BOTTOM SHOWS THE MSGSA SUSTAINABILITY ZONES EIGHT DIFFERENT ZONES.

YOU CAN SEE THAT THE EASTERN THREE ARE COMPLETELY OUTSIDE OF THE CORCORAN CLAY ZONE FOUR, WHICH IS THE LIGHT BLUE ONE ON THE SOUTHERN EDGE IS ACTUALLY WITHIN THE EDGE OF THE CORCORAN CLAY EXISTS WITHIN THAT ZONE.

SO IT'S GOT PIECES OF ALL THREE OF THE PRINCIPAL AQUIFERS.

AND THEN ZONES FOUR, FIVE, SIX, SEVEN, AND EIGHT ARE ALL IN THE WESTERN HALF, WHICH IS CHARACTERIZED BY THE BELOW AND ABOVE CORCORAN CLAY AQUIFERS. SO IN THE MERCED MODEL, AS I MENTIONED, YOU KNOW, IT'S A 3D MODEL THAT HAS DIFFERENT LAYERS OF NUMERICAL GRID CELLS.

LAYERS ONE AND TWO CORRESPOND TO THE UPPER, AND LAYERS THREE, FOUR, AND FIVE ARE THE BELOW CORCORAN CLAY AQUIFER.

THESE ARE JUST SOME CROSS-SECTION LINES, AND I'M JUST GOING TO FLIP THROUGH A COUPLE OF QUICK SECTIONS TO SHOW YOU KNOW WHAT THIS LOOKS LIKE IN A SIDE VIEW.

SO HERE WE'RE LOOKING AT TWO DIFFERENT CROSS-SECTIONS THAT GENERALLY GO IN THE, IN THE EAST TO WEST DIRECTION.

YOU CAN SEE WHERE THE CORCORAN CLAY DENOTED HERE WITH CC IS KIND OF EXISTING NEAR THE GROUND SURFACE

[00:20:11]

AND YOU CAN SEE SORT OF HOW THIN IT IS COMPARED TO YOU KNOW, THE UNDERLYING BELOW CORCORAN CLAY AQUIFER.

AND YOU CAN ALSO SORT OF SEE THE GENERAL SLIGHT DIP DOWNWARDS TOWARDS THE WEST.

THIS NEXT TWO SET OF SECTIONS HERE CUTS IN A GENERALLY NORTH SOUTH DIRECTION.

AGAIN, THE CORCORAN CLAY LAYERS NOTED WITH THE ARROW AND YOU CAN KIND OF SEE WHERE IT EXISTS AND THE RELATIVE POSITION COMPARED TO THE ABOVE AND BELOW CORCORAN CLAY LAYERS. AND THEN THE BIG SORT OF GRAY ISH ZONE ON THE BOTTOM THAT IS LAYER SIX, WHICH IS GENERALLY BELOW THE BASE OF FRESH WATER AND NOT PART OF THE GROUNDWATER ACTIVE GROUNDWATER FLOW SYSTEM.

SO THIS IS ALL JUST TO KIND OF ORIENT YOU ON THE EXTENT AND THE DEPTH AND THE THICKNESS OF THE CORCORAN CLAY.

SO NOW WE'LL MOVE ON TO WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT WELLS AND, WELL, DEPTHS IN THE BASIN.

SO I'M GOING TO HAVE THREE SLIDES HERE. THIS ONE IS SHOWING THE AVERAGE DEPTH IN EACH OF THESE ONE SQUARE MILE SECTIONS OF WELLS, PRODUCTION WELLS, WHICH INCLUDES, YOU KNOW, PUBLIC SUPPLY WELLS AS WELL AS, YOU KNOW, MAINLY AGRICULTURAL WATER SUPPLY WELLS.

SO THIS IS THE AVERAGE DEPTH IN FEET AND THE DARKER RED COLORS ARE DEEPER.

YELLOWISH IS SORT OF INTERMEDIATE. AND THE BLUE AND LIGHT BLUE COLORS ARE THE SHALLOWEST.

SO THIS IS THE AVERAGE DEPTH. AND YOU KNOW GENERALLY THAT WHAT WE SEE HERE IS THAT IN THE SORT OF SOUTH PORTION OF THE BASIN, WELLS TEND TO BE DEEPER. YOU SEE MORE OF THOSE DARKER REDDISH COLORS, WHICH INDICATES A, YOU KNOW, AN AVERAGE DEPTH GREATER THAN 500FT FOR WELLS IN THAT SECTION COMPARATIVELY SHALLOWER AVERAGE DEPTHS, AS YOU GET TO THE SORT OF NORTHERN AND NORTHWESTERN PORTION OF THE BASIN.

HERE WE'RE SEEING SAME TYPE OF INFORMATION, EXCEPT THIS IS THE MINIMUM DEPTH.

SO OBVIOUSLY, YOU KNOW, ALL, ALL COLORS HERE ARE YOU KNOW, SHALLOWER THAN THEY WERE ON THE LAST SLIDE, WHICH IS THE AVERAGE DEPTH. BUT AGAIN, YOU DO SEE MUCH OF THE SAME PATTERN WHERE THINGS ARE GENERALLY DEEPER IN THE SOUTHERN PORTION OF THE BASIN.

AND THEN HERE'S THE MAXIMUM DEPTH AGAIN SHOWING THAT SAME PATTERN, GENERALLY DEEPER WELLS IN THE, IN THE SOUTHERN PORTION OF THE BASIN. SOUTHERN AND IN THE EASTERN PART AS WELL, SORT OF YOU KNOW, OUTSIDE OF THE CORCORAN CLAY EXTENT. SO THIS TABLE AND THE GRAPHIC UNDERLYING IT ARE JUST SHOWING THE SORT OF CUMULATIVE DEPTH OF WELLS FROM THIS, WELL, COMPLETION REPORT DATABASE.

AND WE'RE SPLITTING THIS INTO THE EIGHT SUSTAINABILITY ZONES.

SO WHAT WE CAN REALLY SEE HERE IS, YOU KNOW, IN ZONES TWO THROUGH SEVEN, WHICH ARE, YOU KNOW, THE WELL IT INCLUDES THE ZONES ON THE SOUTHERN PORTION OF THE SUBBASIN, FOUR, FIVE AND SIX.

AND THEN ON, YOU KNOW, SEVEN ON THE SORT OF WESTERN EDGE, WE SEE A GOOD PORTION OF THE TOTAL WELLS YOU KNOW, HAVE DEPTHS THAT ARE AT LEAST, YOU KNOW, 400 OR 500FT DEEP SOMETIMES GREATER.

SO, YOU KNOW, I GUESS THIS THE TAKE HOME MESSAGE HERE IS THAT THERE'S A SIGNIFICANT NUMBER OF RELATIVELY DEEP WELLS.

WELLS THAT WOULD BE SCREENED BENEATH THE CORCORAN CLAY BASED ON THE HYDRO STRATIGRAPHY THAT I PRESENTED EARLIER.

ANOTHER KIND OF SOURCE OF INFORMATION. AND PART OF THIS ANALYSIS IS LOOKING AT THE DEPTH AND PUMPING DISTRIBUTION IN THE MERCED WATER RESOURCES MODEL.

THE WAY THE MODEL SET UP PUMPING. AND IT'S BECAUSE THERE'S REALLY NO AVAILABLE INFORMATION TO GIVE YOU EXACT SCREENED INTERVALS AND SCREENED DEPTHS.

THEY USED AN ASSUMPTION THAT THE PUMPING COMES FROM DEPTHS THAT ARE BETWEEN THE 25TH PERCENTILE ON THE TOP LEFT AND THE 75TH PERCENTILE ON THE TOP RIGHT. YOU KNOW, MAPS.

SO BASICALLY, THE DEPTH ZONE THAT IS REPRESENTED BETWEEN THOSE TWO MAPS IS WHERE THE MODEL IS ASSUMING THAT

[00:25:06]

SO THIS SET OF MAPS HERE SHOWS THE AMOUNT OF PUMPING OR THE FRACTION OF TOTAL PUMPING THAT IS SET TO OCCUR.

AGAIN, IN THE MODEL IN EACH OF THE FIVE LAYERS, ONE THROUGH FIVE EXCLUDING LAYER SIX, WHICH IS NON-ACTIVE AND BELOW THE BASE OF FRESHWATER. SO AGAIN, LAYERS ONE AND TWO ARE THE ABOVE CORCORAN CLAY AQUIFER, AND LAYERS THREE, FOUR, AND FIVE ARE BELOW CORCORAN CLAY. AND WHAT WE REALLY SEE HERE IS ILLUSTRATED WITH THIS YOU KNOW, DASHED OVAL THAT I'M SHOWING HERE. THE HIGHEST PROPORTION OF PUMPING IN THIS SORT OF WESTERN PORTION OF THE BASIN IS COMING FROM LAYERS THREE AND FOUR, WHICH ARE BELOW THE CORCORAN CLAY AQUIFER.

YOU KNOW, THERE ARE SOME AREAS IN THE FAR NORTHWEST THAT THE PREDOMINANCE OF PUMPING.

YOU KNOW, IS COMING FROM ABOVE CORCORAN PLACE.

THAT'S SORT OF IN THE STEVENSON AND MARCHINI WATER DISTRICT AREAS.

YOU SEE THAT IN THE, YOU KNOW, THE PANEL THAT'S LABELED TWO ABOVE CORCORAN CLAY, YOU SEE THAT SORT OF BLUE SPOT IN THAT IN THAT AREA.

BUT GENERALLY IN MOST OF THE WESTERN HALF OF THE BASIN, WE'RE SEEING YOU KNOW, GROUNDWATER PUMPING COMING PREDOMINANTLY FROM THE BELOW CORCORAN CLAY AQUIFERS. SO WE USED THE MERCED WATER RESOURCES MODEL, AND I DO HAVE THE UPDATED MODELS PROVIDED, YOU KNOW, TO JUST RECENTLY.

AND SO THIS ANALYSIS REFLECTS YOU KNOW, THE LATEST MODEL THAT'S YOU KNOW, DEVELOPED FOR THE BASIN BY WOODARD AND CURRAN.

SO WHAT I'M SHOWING HERE IS A TABLE OF TOTAL PUMPING IN THE EIGHT DIFFERENT AQUIFERS OR SUSTAINABILITY ZONES. THOSE ARE THE DIFFERENT COLUMNS RUNNING ACROSS THE TOP.

AND THEN THE AQUIFER LAYERS GROUPED INTO THE ABOVE AND BELOW CORCORAN CLAY AQUIFERS.

SO REALLY WHAT YOU SEE HERE I WANTED TO SHOW HERE IS KIND OF THE SUMMARY.

THE TOTAL OF ABOVE CORCORAN CLAY AND BELOW CORCORAN CLAY PUMPING IN YOU KNOW, AS REPRESENTED IN THE MODEL, YOU CAN SEE THAT YOU KNOW, IN EACH OF ZONES FOUR, FIVE AND SIX THE PREDOMINANT PUMPING IS COMING FROM BELOW CORCORAN CLAY ROUGHLY, YOU KNOW, ABOUT A 10 TO 1 RATIO IN ZONES FIVE AND SIX AND YOU KNOW EVEN SLIGHTLY GREATER THAN THAT IN ZONE FOUR.

SO YOU KNOW, THIS IS SORT OF HOW THE HOW THE MODEL IS PARAMETERIZED AND HOW PUMPING IS DISTRIBUTED IN THE MODEL.

SO HOW DOES PUMPING RELATE TO OBSERVED SUBSIDENCE? AS I'VE BEEN DISCUSSING SO FAR, WE'RE, LOOKING AT SUBSIDENCE THAT HAS KIND OF AFFECTED THAT SOUTHERN CORNER OF THE BASIN, THAT SOUTHWEST CORNER. SO ON THIS SLIDE AND THE NEXT ONE, I'M JUST SHOWING A COUPLE OF PUMPING AND SUBSIDENCE SNAPSHOTS PUMPING ON THE TOP ROW, SUBSIDENCE ON THE BOTTOM IN THE TOP.

THE GROUNDWATER EXTRACTIONS ARE, YOU KNOW, DARKER SHADES OF BLUE CORRESPOND TO, YOU KNOW, MORE INTENSIVE RATES OF PUMPING. AND IN THE BOTTOM, YOU KNOW, SUBSIDENCE, COLOR SCALE.

YOU HAVE, YOU KNOW, ORANGE BEING THE HIGHEST RATES OF SUBSIDENCE AND THEN YELLOW, AND THEN THE BRIGHT GREEN AND THEN DARK GREEN AND YOU KNOW, NEGLIGIBLE SUBSIDENCE WHERE, WHERE THINGS ARE GRAY.

SO WE DO SEE THIS YOU KNOW, CONCENTRATION OF OBSERVED SUBSIDENCE.

AND I SHOULD MENTION THIS IS FROM THE INSAR DATA.

SO THIS IS THE SATELLITE DERIVED DATA PRODUCT THAT THE DWR COLLECTS AND PUBLISHES REGULARLY.

SO WE SEE THIS SUBSIDENCE SOME YEARS GREATER THAN OTHERS BUT TENDING, TENDING TO BE IN THESE SOUTHERN AREAS.

WATER YEAR 2022 IS THE ONE OUT OF THESE RECENT YEARS THAT HAD, YOU KNOW, SORT OF THE, THE GREATEST EXTENT AND GREATEST AMOUNT OF SUBSIDENCE.

[00:30:08]

COMPARATIVELY LESS SUBSIDENCE IN WATER YEAR 2023 AND 2024, BOTH OF WHICH WERE WETTER YEARS COMPARED TO 2022.

SO WHAT DO WE SEE AT THE SUBSIDENCE REPRESENTATIVE MONITORING SITES? THERE ARE FOUR SITES THAT HAVE DEPICTED ON THIS MAP.

ON THE LEFT. THE RED LABELS SHOW THE AVERAGE SUBSIDENCE RATE IN FEET PER YEAR THAT'S BEEN OBSERVED.

SO WE'RE LOOKING AT BETWEEN 0.27 AND 0.3 THREE FEET PER YEAR OVER THAT 13 YEAR PERIOD.

THE RIGHT HAND GRAPH SHOWS THESE SUBSIDENCE RATES ON THE VERTICAL SCALE OVER TIME, ON THE HORIZONTAL SCALE.

AND SO YOU CAN SEE, YOU KNOW, THERE WERE SOME, SOME GREATER RATES INDICATED BY, YOU KNOW, POINTS SORT OF SHOWING UP ON THE LOWER SIDE OF THIS THIS GRAPH.

IN THE EARLIER YEARS, THERE WERE SOME FLUCTUATIONS IN THE RATES FROM YEAR TO YEAR.

AND THEN THEY, YOU KNOW, HAD SORT OF A, A LESSENING OF SUBSIDENCE RATES IN THE TIME FRAME FROM ABOUT 2016 THROUGH 2019.

THEN SOME INCREASED RATES AGAIN IN 2020 THROUGH 2022.

AND THEN, YOU KNOW, ACTUALLY IN 2023 SOME, SOME OBSERVED REBOUND.

SO THE SORT OF OPPOSITE OF SUBSIDENCE THE BLACK LINES ON THE, ON THE PLOT ARE SHOWING THAT THE SOLID BLACK LINE IS, YOU KNOW, ZERO FEET PER YEAR. THE DOTTED LINE IS THE MINIMUM THRESHOLD VALUE OF -0.16.

AND THAT'S THE MINIMUM THRESHOLD, INCLUDING THE SORT OF UNCERTAINTY LEVEL.

AND THEN THE DASHED BLACK LINE AT THE BOTTOM THAT'S -0.75FT PER YEAR, WHICH IS, YOU KNOW, THE INTERIM MILESTONE VALUE FOR 2025. SO WHAT WE'RE SEEING, YOU KNOW, AT THESE SUBSIDENCE LOCATIONS IS RATES IN THE 2024 TIME FRAME THAT ARE, YOU KNOW, BETWEEN ZERO AND A LITTLE BIT GREATER THAN, YOU KNOW, 0.2FT PER YEAR. SO RIGHT AROUND THAT SORT OF MINIMUM THRESHOLD WITH UNCERTAINTY LEVEL IN YEARS BEFORE THAT, YOU KNOW, WE WERE DEFINITELY SEEING GREATER RATES.

AND SO OBVIOUSLY THE GOAL IS TO MAKE THOSE RATES COME DOWN TO AS CLOSE TO ZERO AS POSSIBLE CONSISTENT WITH SUSTAINABILITY CRITERIA. SO HERE I'M SHOWING THE SAME REPRESENTATIVE MONITORING LOCATIONS AND ALSO SHOWING GROUNDWATER LEVELS AT THESE LOCATIONS.

SO I GUESS I SHOULD POINT OUT THE THE SQUIGGLY LINE ON EACH OF THESE GRAPHS IS ACTUALLY THE INSAR SUBSIDENCE DATA.

WE HAVE MONTHLY DATA. SO IT ALLOWS US TO KIND OF PLOT THIS YOU KNOW, PRETTY HIGH RESOLUTION OVER TIME.

AND YOU CAN SEE HOW IN ALL OF THESE CASES, YOU SEE A SORT OF UP AND DOWN PATTERN EACH YEAR.

SO THERE IS, YOU KNOW, SOME ELASTIC SUBSIDENCE WHERE IT REBOUNDS.

BUT THEN THE TENDENCY HERE, YOU CAN SEE IT WITH THE DOWNWARD TREND IS THAT THERE'S MORE SUBSIDENCE EACH YEAR THAN REBOUND.

AND SO YOU GET A NET NET DECLINE OVER TIME. WHAT I HAVE ALSO SHOWN, YOU KNOW, THAT THE UNDERLYING SYMBOLS THAT LOOK TRIANGLES AND POINTS ON THE ON THE GRAPHICS.

THOSE ARE THE WATER LEVELS. AND THOSE CAN BE SORT OF COMPARED RELATIVE TO THE THE THREE HORIZONTAL LINES ON EACH GRAPHIC, WHICH ARE THE, THE GROUND SURFACE AND THEN THE MEASURABLE OBJECTIVE IN GREEN AND THE MINIMUM THRESHOLD IN RED.

SO, YOU KNOW, ONE THING THAT WE SEE, WHICH I AM CIRCLING HERE WITH THIS, THIS RED DASHED OVAL IS WE SEE A TENDENCY FOR SUBSIDENCE RATES TO INCREASE AT TIMES WHEN THE WATER LEVELS ARE LOW ESPECIALLY BELOW THEIR MINIMUM THRESHOLD, YOU KNOW, BELOW THIS RED LINE. SO WE DO SEE SOME, YOU KNOW, EVEN GREATER RATES OF SUBSIDENCE.

YOU CAN SEE THAT IN BOTH THE TOP LEFT AND THE TOP RIGHT GRAPHIC.

[00:35:01]

AND THAT'S ASSOCIATED WITH HIGHER, HIGHER WATER LEVELS.

SO AGAIN, THIS KIND OF DEMONSTRATES THE CONCEPT AND THE THEORETICAL BASIS THAT YOU KNOW, GROUNDWATER SUBSIDENCE IS DRIVEN BY WATER LEVELS, ESPECIALLY WHEN THEY DECREASE BELOW CERTAIN THRESHOLD AMOUNTS.

AND WHEN WATER LEVELS ARE KEPT ABOVE THOSE AMOUNTS, THEY CAN YOU KNOW, SUBSIDENCE CAN, CAN STABILIZE OR, OR CEASE. SO THAT'S KIND OF THE COMPARISON OF OBSERVED RATES OF SUBSIDENCE AND GROUNDWATER LEVELS THAT WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO DO THUS FAR. THE LAST TWO SLIDES HERE ARE JUST TALKING ABOUT SORT OF AN EXTENSION OF THAT ANALYSIS THAT AS I MENTIONED, IS NOT COMPLETED, BUT YOU KNOW, CAN BE DONE. AND I WANTED TO SHARE SORT OF THE APPROACH AT THIS TIME.

SO YOU KNOW, BASICALLY WITH THE, WITH THE MODEL AND WITH THE INSAR DATA, THOSE ARE TWO YOU KNOW, RELATIVELY HIGH FREQUENCY AND HIGH RESOLUTION DATA SETS THAT CAN BE SORT OF PAIRED TOGETHER.

THAT'S THE APPROACH HERE IS TO YOU KNOW, TAKE GROUNDWATER ELEVATIONS AND AT A GIVEN LOCATION, LOOK AT THE SUBSIDENCE AND TRY AND PICK OUT A LEVEL OF GROUNDWATER LEVEL THAT CORRESPONDS WITH, YOU KNOW, INCREASED RATES OF SUBSIDENCE OR VERSUS DECREASED RATES OF SUBSIDENCE, AND TO USE THAT TO INFORM YOU KNOW, SORT OF THRESHOLD ELEVATIONS FOR PUMPING WELLS AND THINGS LIKE THAT.

CHRIS. YEAH. YEAH. IN THE SUBSIDENCE LEVELS IS THERE ANY, LIKE, GROUND TRUTHING TO PERCENT MOISTURE IN THE TOPSOIL. YOU KNOW, THE LAND ABOVE THE WATER? NO, I'M NOT AWARE OF ANY CONSIDERATION OF SOIL MOISTURE IN THOSE DATA.

I MEAN, THEY'RE USING THEY'RE USING RADAR SIGNALS FROM THE SATELLITES TO SORT OF BOUNCE OFF THE GROUND.

AND THEN THEY COMPARE, YOU KNOW, TWO SETS OF RADAR SIGNALS TO EACH OTHER AND THROUGH A SORT OF INTERFEROMETRY CONCEPT, THAT'S HOW THEY'RE ABLE TO DETECT CHANGES IN SURFACE ELEVATION.

BUT I, I DON'T THINK THERE'S ANY CONSIDERATION OF, OF SOIL MOISTURE IN THOSE DATA.

DO YOU THINK THAT SOIL MOISTURE COULD BE AFFECTING THE LEVEL? YOU KNOW, THAT'S NOT A THAT'S NOT A TYPICAL CAUSE FOR OBSERVATIONS OF SUBSIDENCE.

I MEAN, REALLY, SUBSIDENCE IS THE. IT'S THE COMPRESSION OF THOSE DEEPER CLAY LAYERS, LIKE THE CLAY, WHICH HAPPENS WHEN SORT OF THE GROUNDWATER HEAD VALUES, GROUNDWATER LEVELS DROP AND THUS THE HEAD IS THE WATER IS NO LONGER SUPPORTING THE OVERLYING WEIGHT OF, YOU KNOW, THE AQUIFERS ABOVE IT.

AND THAT WEIGHT SORT OF GETS UM, YOU KNOW, DIRECTLY PUSHED ONTO THE, THE CLAY THE FINE CLAY MATERIALS, WHICH TEND TO THEN SORT OF CONSOLIDATE AND SETTLE.

SO THE NEAR-SURFACE SOIL MOISTURE, YOU KNOW, KIND OF IN THE, IN THE ROOT ZONE OF SOILS YOU KNOW, THAT'S MUCH SHALLOWER THAN THE, THE AREAS WHERE THE, YOU KNOW, COMPRESSION OF AQUITARDS IS HAPPENING.

SO YOU KNOW, I DON'T THINK THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WOULD AFFECT THE SUBSIDENCE RATES.

WELL, BUT THE INSAR IS MEASURING THE TOP OF THE SURFACE.

RIGHT. SO IF THAT SOIL WERE TO CONTRACT OR EXPAND DUE TO TEMPERATURE AND MOISTURE.

THAT WOULD MAYBE BE DIFFERENT THAN A CHANGE IN THE SURFACE OF THE CLAY LAYER.

I HEAR WHAT YOU'RE SAYING, AND I, YOU KNOW, I THINK THERE MAY BE A POSSIBILITY OF.

ROOT ZONE. SOIL ZONE. YOU KNOW, SLIGHT CHANGES IN VOLUME.

I WILL SAY THAT, YOU KNOW. THE INSAR DATA WORKS BEST AND IS ACTUALLY IF YOU ZOOM IN ON THE WHERE THE DATA ARE COLLECTED.

THEY ARE MOST ACCURATE ON ACTUALLY LIKE THE ROADS THAT AND FIXED STRUCTURES THINGS THAT ARE.

YOU KNOW SORT OF CONCRETE AND HARD STRUCTURES THAT SORT OF BISECT ALL OF THE, FIELDS.

[00:40:06]

SO YOU KNOW, THE IT'S THOSE HARDSCAPE ROADS THAT ARE ACTUALLY MORE OF A KIND OF A, YEAH, LESS MOISTURE CHANGE AND LESS DATA LOCATION. ALL RIGHT. YEP. THANKS FOR RUNNING ME THROUGH THAT.

NO PROBLEM. YEAH. SO THEN JUST MY LAST SLIDE HERE.

JUST TO CONTINUE ABOUT THIS POTENTIAL MODELING APPROACH IF YOU WOULD ALIGN THE INSAR SUBSIDENCE DATA WITH, YOU KNOW, TIME SERIES DATA COMING FROM THE MODEL YOU KNOW, YOU CAN BASICALLY EXAMINE THAT THRESHOLD HEAD AND YOU COULD ALSO EXPLORE THINGS LIKE A TEMPORAL LAG. YOU KNOW, ONE THING THAT WE DO SEE IN THE OBSERVED DATA SOMETIMES IS THE SUBSIDENCE RATE ONLY INCREASES SOME PERIOD OF TIME AFTER THE HEAD VALUE DROPS, YOU KNOW, SORT OF BELOW A CRITICAL LEVEL INDICATING THAT, YOU KNOW, IT TAKES SOME TIME FOR THAT SUBSIDENCE TO ACTUALLY OCCUR AND TO BE OBSERVED.

SO ANYWAY, EXPLORING A TEMPORAL LAG OF, YOU KNOW, ONE MONTH, THREE MONTHS, SIX MONTHS, ETC., COULD, COULD BE DONE AS PART OF THIS AND, YOU KNOW, EVALUATING THE THRESHOLDS THROUGH A FEW DIFFERENT TYPES OF SORT OF STATISTICAL TESTS MENTIONED HERE. AND THEN, YOU KNOW, KIND OF THE OUTPUT FROM THIS WOULD BE MAPS OF, OF THRESHOLDS.

AND IT'S IMPORTANT TO ALSO MAP OUT SORT OF HOW UNCERTAIN THOSE ESTIMATES ARE.

AS WITH ALL YOU KNOW, MODELING EFFORTS. WE ALWAYS HAVE TO KEEP IN MIND THE UNCERTAINTY IN THE IN THE IN THE DATA, IN THE DATA AND IN THE MODEL REPRESENTATION. SO YOU KNOW, AN OUTPUT SHOWING THE UNCERTAINTY OF THAT THRESHOLD WOULD, WOULD CERTAINLY BE USEFUL. AND THEN, YOU KNOW, AT THE END OF THE DAY, I GUESS THE, THE WAY THIS WOULD PLAY INTO, YOU KNOW, AN ALLOCATION POLICY IS DEFINITELY MORE OF A POLICY DECISION, BUT IT'S SOMETHING THAT, YOU KNOW THIS TYPE OF TECHNICAL MAPPING AND DATA ANALYSIS COULD, COULD INFORM BUT I, YOU KNOW, I WON'T SORT OF SPEAK TO HOW THAT HOW EXACTLY THAT POLICY WOULD BE FORMED BASED ON THIS BECAUSE SORT OF OUT OF MY, OUT OF MY WHEELHOUSE, SO TO SPEAK.

AND THAT IS THAT'S THE END OF MY SLIDES HERE, BUT HAPPY TO TAKE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS YOU MIGHT HAVE.

ANYBODY HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FOR CHRIS? NOPE. ANY PUBLIC COMMENT ON THIS ITEM? HEY, CHRIS CAN YOU MOVE TO SLIDE 21? SO IN. WELL, YEAH, IN 20 AND 21, BOTH. YOU COULD, YOU KNOW, DROUGHT YEARS IN THIS 1 IN 20.

YEAH. THERE IN 20 IN 2022 DROUGHT YEAR. YOU CAN SEE THAT BRAD COULD YOU MOVE A LITTLE TO YOUR RIGHT SO YOUR MICROPHONE PICKS YOU UP BETTER.

I DON'T KNOW IF CHRIS CAN HEAR YOU OR NOT. YEAH. THE LIKE IN 2022 IT'S OBVIOUS DROUGHT YEAR.

YOU CAN SEE THAT THE VAST MAJORITY OF THE SUBSIDENCE IS COMING FROM THE CHOWCHILLA PUMPING AND CHOWCHILLA SUBBASIN AND CREEPS INTO THE MERCED SUBBASIN.

AND IT'S THE SAME IN 2021. I MEAN, I'M NOT SAYING THAT WE DON'T HAVE WE DON'T CONTRIBUTE TO IT HERE, BUT HOW ARE WE, AS A SUBBASIN INTERACTING WITH THE CHOWCHILLA SUBBASIN WITH, YOU KNOW, THEY HAVE OBVIOUSLY CONTRIBUTING TO SUBSIDENCE THAT IS OCCURRING HERE. AND THEN ALSO, HOW ARE WE HOW DOES THE SIGNIFICANT INFRASTRUCTURE COMPONENT PLAY INTO THIS, WHERE, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE THE EAST SIDE BYPASS AND SAC DAM AND THERE'S SIGNIFICANT INFRASTRUCTURE WE'RE SUPPOSED TO BE PRESERVING TO PREVENT, YOU KNOW, FROM SOME SUBSIDENCE IMPACTING IT. BUT DOES PUMPING IN THE WESTERN PORTION OF THE OF THE BASIN AND IMPACT THAT INFRASTRUCTURE AND ARE WE CONSIDERING THESE FUTURE RULES TO ACCOMMODATE THAT?

[00:45:01]

AND I WOULD DEFINITELY AGREE THAT THAT'S WHAT THE DATA SHOW.

TO THE SOUTH YOU KNOW, A LITTLE BIT SPREADING INTO THE MERCED SUBBASIN THE, YOU KNOW, SORT OF CAUSALITY OF THAT.

IT'S REALLY HARD TO TEASE THAT KIND OF THING OUT.

AND YOU KNOW, I THINK THE DWR AND THOSE WHO ARE KIND OF TAKING A HIGH LEVEL VIEW OF ALL OF THESE ISSUES YOU KNOW, THEY DON'T TEND TO LIKE TO INSERT THEMSELVES INTO YOU KNOW, DEBATES BETWEEN BASINS ABOUT, YOU KNOW WHAT THE CAUSES MIGHT BE.

THEY WILL JUST LOOK AT IT FROM TOP DOWN AND SAY, OKAY, WE SEE SUBSIDENCE IN YOUR BASIN, YOU KNOW, THEREFORE YOU MUST ADDRESS IT. AND SO YOU KNOW, I THINK IT'S KIND OF IMPORTANT THAT NEIGHBORING BASINS WORK IN A COORDINATED WAY. AND YOU KNOW, I THINK ESPECIALLY WITH SUBSIDENCE BEING KIND OF A REGIONAL ISSUE, THERE ARE NEIGHBORING BASINS TO THE SOUTH, TO THE WEST, TO THE SOUTHWEST.

ALL SORT OF SHARE AN INTEREST IN ADDRESSING THIS.

BUT, YOU KNOW, THE DWR THEY DON'T NECESSARILY LOOK KINDLY ON BASINS THAT WOULD JUST SORT OF SAY THAT THE PROBLEM IS CAUSED ELSEWHERE.

THEY SORT OF EXPECT THERE TO BE LOCAL ACTION ON IT.

AND I SORT OF FORGET WHAT YOUR SECOND QUESTION WAS, BUT.

THE INFRASTRUCTURE THAT WAS PUT IN IN THE AREA TO HELP RESOLVE SOME OF THE SUBSIDENCE.

HOW IS THAT? IS THAT RIGHT, BRAD? YOU GOT TO. YEAH. YEAH. I MEAN, HOLD ON, CHRIS.

UNDER I MEAN, I KNOW WE'VE COMMITTED TO ZERO SUBSIDENCE, ETC.

I ACKNOWLEDGE THAT WE HAVE TO PREVENT ALL THE SUBSIDENCE.

BUT MY UNDERSTANDING IN SIGMA IS PREVENTION OF SUBSIDENCE IS TO PROTECT SIGNIFICANT STATE AND LOCAL INFRASTRUCTURE.

AND WE AREN'T REALLY CONSIDERING THAT IN THESE DISCUSSIONS.

I WAS BRINGING UP MORE FOR THE BOARD. WHEN WE'RE CREATING FUTURE ALLOCATION RULES THAT WE SHOULD CONSIDER PROTECTING INFRASTRUCTURE, NOT JUST, WELL, WE DO NEED TO PREVENT ALL SUBSIDENCE, I UNDERSTAND THAT, BUT IT'S JUST SOMETHING ELSE TO CONSIDER.

WELL, IF WE PREVENT SUBSIDENCE, WE'LL PREVENT DAMAGE TO THE INFRASTRUCTURE.

YEAH. I GUESS MY GENERAL POINT IS, WHEN WE CREATE RULES, I DON'T WANT TO OVERREGULATE THE WHOLE SUBJECT BECAUSE HALF OF OUR SUBBASIN IS NOT HALF, BUT ALMOST HALF IS UNDERLAIN BY THE CORCORAN CLAY.

SO WHEN WE GO TO ADDRESS THIS PROBLEM, I DON'T WANT TO BE OVERREACHING AND GO, OH, UNDO REGULATION OVER THE WHOLE CORCORAN CLAY AREA.

IF WE CAN PROTECT THE SUBBASIN FROM, YOU KNOW, THE STATE INTERVENTION AND OTHER NEGATIVE IMPACTS BY ONLY REGULATING SMALL PORTION. THAT'S MY OVERLYING COMMENT.

GOTCHA. ALL RIGHT. ANY OTHER PUBLIC COMMENT? NOPE.

SEEING NONE, I'LL CLOSE PUBLIC COMMENT. BRING IT BACK TO THE BOARD. ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? NO. ALL RIGHT. THANK YOU, CHRIS. APPRECIATE THE UPDATE.

YES. THANK YOU. ALL RIGHT. AND NOW WE WILL MOVE TO ITEM EIGHT WHICH IS

[8. GROUNDWATER ALLOCATION RULE]

ANY COMMENTS, FIRST LACEY. ALL RIGHT. SO WE'RE GOING TO GO THROUGH A FEW ADDS TO THE DRAFT. I BELIEVE IT'S DATED APRIL.

I'M SORRY, I'M FORGETTING. I DO HAVE SOME COMMENTS, APPARENTLY.

SO THIS IS THE APRIL 8TH DRAFT. THIS WAS POSTED ON THE WEBSITE, SO IT'S AVAILABLE FOR THE PUBLIC.

[00:50:06]

AND SO WE DO HAVE SOME LANGUAGE ON THAT, BUT THAT IS NOT YET IN THE DRAFT THAT'S POSTED ONLINE.

BUT ALL THE OTHER SECTIONS HE'S GOING TO TALK ABOUT IS AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC ONLINE. THANK YOU.

LACEY THANK YOU FOR CLARIFYING THAT ON THE THE DATES.

SO THESE WERE ITEMS I BELIEVE WE ADDRESSED BRIEFLY.

WE GAVE AN OVERVIEW TO AT THE LAST MEETING. AND THEN THE RED LINE WAS MADE AVAILABLE FOLLOWING THAT MEETING.

AND SO IT'S BEEN OUT THERE FOR DISCUSSION WITH THE EXCEPTION OF 17432.

SO IN PARTICULAR, WE'LL START THERE JUST FROM AN ORDERING STANDPOINT, 17432 PREVIOUSLY WAS WRITTEN TO SAY AS A PARENTHETICAL, WE WERE GOING TO ADD POTENTIAL LIMITATIONS ON TRANSFERS OF AN ALLOCATION IN AREAS THAT MAY BE FURTHER SUBJECT TO LIMITATIONS DUE TO THE PRESENCE OF CORCORAN CLAY, THAT PLACEHOLDER LANGUAGE HAS BEEN THERE'S BEEN DRAFT LANGUAGE ADDED TO THAT.

THAT WAS NOT IN THAT APRIL VERSION. THAT WOULD ESSENTIALLY SAY THE GSA IS GOING TO EVALUATE THIS THE NEED TO PLACE LIMITATIONS PERIODICALLY AS DATA AND CIRCUMSTANCES WARRANT, BUT AT LEAST IN CONJUNCTION WITH EACH FIVE YEAR UPDATE OF THE GSP, WHICH IS CONSISTENT WITH OTHER AREAS WHERE WE SAY WE'RE NOT GOING TO ESSENTIALLY NOT LIMIT TRANSFERS OF AND ALLOCATION WITHIN A SUSTAINABILITY ZONE AS IT'S CURRENTLY ALLOWED. SO WHERE YOU'RE IN SECTIONS, GIVEN WHAT CHRIS JUST TALKED ABOUT ON SUBSIDENCE, THE AREAS THAT ARE SUBJECT TO MAYBE MORE SUBSIDENCE, THE GSA IS NOT INTENDING TO LIMIT THE ABILITY TO TRANSFER ALLOCATION.

SO, FOR INSTANCE, YOU MAY HAVE A GROWER WITH SOME AVAILABLE ALLOCATION WHO TRADITIONALLY PUMPS ABOVE THE CORCORAN CLAY, AND THEY TRANSFER THAT ALLOCATION TO A NEIGHBOR WHOSE WELLS ARE DEEPER.

THIS GSA IS SAYING, I'M NOT GOING TO WORRY ABOUT THAT AT THIS POINT, UNLESS THERE ARE SPECIFIC CIRCUMSTANCES THAT START TO BE IDENTIFIED, LIKE MAYBE A LOCALIZED HOTSPOT OR TO BRAD'S COMMENT, INFRASTRUCTURE ISSUES START POPPING UP, MAYBE SOMETHING WITH A ROADWAY OR SOME OTHER INFRASTRUCTURE THAT'S OF CONCERN.

YOU'LL BRING THAT TO THE ATTENTION. OTHERWISE IT'LL BE REVISITED PRIOR TO THE 2030 UPDATE TO THE GSP, WHICH WILL BE OCCURRING IN 2029. SO THAT'S THE LANGUAGE THAT GOT ADDED THAT PEOPLE HAVE NOT SEEN, BUT THAT'S PRETTY MUCH WHAT IT SAYS. SO WE'RE NOW WE'RE GOING TO JUMP TO SOME LANGUAGE THAT WAS IN THAT PRIOR REDLINE DRAFT THAT'S AVAILABLE ONLINE.

WE'RE GOING TO GO TO 18. 12 WHICH IS ON. FLAGGED ALL THESE THOUGHT I FLAGGED THEM ALL TO MAKE THEM EASIER FOR ME, BUT APPARENTLY NOT 37 THERE WE GO.

SO THANK YOU. JEANNIE. ACCOUNTING FOR NONAGRICULTURAL LAND USES ON LANDS WITHIN AGRICULTURAL LAND USE CLASSIFICATIONS.

SO WE RECOGNIZE THERE ARE SOME SITUATIONS WHERE THERE IS A NONAGRICULTURAL USE.

AND AS YOU NOTE, THIS COULD INCLUDE COMMERCIAL, INDUSTRIAL, AND RECREATIONAL LAND USES.

AS IT SAYS UNDER 1.8.12.1.1. THESE HAPPEN TO BE SOMETIMES A USE WITHIN A PARCEL.

SO YOU MIGHT HAVE A 100 ACRE PARCEL OR A 50 ACRE PARCEL, OR EVEN A SMALLER PARCEL THAT'S AN AG PARCEL GROWING SOMETHING, BUT ALSO HAS AN INDUSTRIAL OR COMMERCIAL OR RECREATIONAL LAND USE ASSOCIATED WITH IT.

WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE SINCE THAT ENTIRE PARCEL HAS A ALLOCATION, THE CROPPED PORTION IS CONSUMING WATER.

WE WANTED TO ADDRESS THE, THESE OTHER NONAGRICULTURAL USES AND MAKE SURE THEY WERE GETTING ACCOUNTED FOR, ASSOCIATED WITH THAT ALLOCATION ON THAT PARCEL.

SO WHAT THE LANGUAGE SAYS IS THAT AS WE FLIP THE PAGE ON TO PAGE 38, THE TOP OF PAGE 38 IS THAT INFORMATION WILL BE BROUGHT TO THE GSA, AND STAFF WILL ESSENTIALLY REVIEW IT ON A CASE BY CASE BASIS.

AND THEY WILL, THAT PARTY WILL PROBABLY NEED TO BE PROVIDING WELL DATA, AND THAT WELL DATA WILL BE COUNTED AS CONSUMPTION.

SO 100% OF WATER THAT MIGHT BE GOING TO A RECREATIONAL FACILITY OR MAYBE SOME VENUE OR SOMETHING THAT'S OPERATED ON A PARTICULAR AGRICULTURAL PROCESS OR GROUNDS, OR A PRODUCTION FACILITY PROCESSING FACILITY OF SOME SORT.

[00:55:04]

SO THAT'S WHAT THIS LANGUAGE IS NOW SAYING. AND WE'RE GOING TO BE HAPPY TO GET ANY COMMENTS.

I THINK WE CAN. DO YOU WANT TO HIT COMMENTS AS WE GO THROUGH EACH ONE OF THESE? SURE. YEAH. I MEAN, I'D ASK FOR PUBLIC COMMENT ON EACH ONE.

YES. YEAH. LET'S DO THAT. OKAY. SO THAT MIGHT BE SOME UP AND DOWNS IF ANYBODY WANTS TO COME.

OKAY. ANY PUBLIC COMMENT REGARDING THAT ITEM, WHICH IS IF THERE'S A COMMERCIAL OR INDUSTRIAL USE ON AG GROUND.

OKAY. WE'RE GOOD. GO AHEAD. CLOSE PUBLIC COMMENT.

ANYBODY ONLINE? NO. CLOSE PUBLIC COMMENT. GO AHEAD.

OKAY. MOVING THEN TO 1813 DATA SOURCES, WHICH ACTUALLY STARTS ON PAGE 38.

WHAT WE HAVE NOW PROVIDED HERE IS A LOT OF INFORMATION ASSOCIATED WITH THE DATA SOURCES THAT ARE CITED THROUGHOUT THE RULE.

ONE IS YOU MAY CHOOSE AN ALTERNATIVE REMOTE SENSING SOURCE.

THE DEFAULT IS OPENET AS IT'S AVAILABLE THROUGH THE GROUNDWATER ACCOUNTING PLATFORM.

BUT WE CAN ACCOMMODATE OTHER REMOTE SENSING. SO THERE'S SOME LANGUAGE ABOUT THAT.

IF YOU HAPPEN TO HAVE ANOTHER TOOL OR A PURVEYOR THAT YOU'VE CONTRACTED WITH FOR THAT DATA.

THEN THERE'S THE FLOW METER REQUIREMENTS. IF YOU ARE CHOOSING TO USE FLOW METERS FOR YOUR SOURCE OF DETERMINING CONSUMPTIVE USE, THERE'S REQUIREMENTS ABOUT THE FLOW METER REQUIREMENT OF WHAT THE GSA WILL NEED TO SEE REGARDING THE FLOW METERS.

AND THEN THERE'S SOMETHING WE'RE CALLING AT THE BOTTOM OF PAGE 38 AND ROLLING TO A TABLE ON THE NEXT PAGE THE EFFICIENCY FACTORS.

AND THIS DOES MATTER WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT USING FLOW METERS.

SO IN TRADITIONAL AGRICULTURAL OPERATIONS YOU'RE GOING TO PUMP OUT OF THE GROUND, PUT IT OUT ONTO A FIELD USING SOME IRRIGATION SYSTEM ON A FIELD THAT GENERALLY HAS SOME CERTAIN DRAINAGE PROPERTIES. AND WE WANTED TO BE ABLE TO SAY IF YOU PUMPED A THOUSAND UNITS OUT OF THE GROUND, WE DON'T WANT TO PRESUME ALL OF THAT IS CONSUMED BECAUSE YOU LIKELY HAVE DEEP PERCOLATION ASSOCIATED WITH YOUR IRRIGATION OPERATIONS.

SO WE WANT TO DISCOUNT IT ASSOCIATED WITH THE TYPE OF IRRIGATION SYSTEM AND A SOIL DRAINAGE FACTOR.

NOW THERE ARE LOTS OF OTHER THINGS THAT AFFECT IRRIGATION EFFICIENCY.

SO THIS IS AN ATTEMPT TO SIMPLIFY SO THAT THE FLOW METER DATA YOU GIVE US DOESN'T.

WE CAN DISCOUNT SOME OF THAT TO NOT HOLD THAT AGAINST YOUR ALLOCATION.

SO THAT'S WHAT THAT TABLE IS. AND THEN THERE IS SOME ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ASSOCIATED WITH BELOW THE TABLE.

THEN WE HAVE THE APPLICABLE FACTORS FOR ANIMAL FEEDING OPERATIONS WHICH WAS ALSO REFERENCED AS YOU CAN HAVE THIS OPTION AND CHOOSE A DEFAULT FACTOR IF YOU DON'T WANT TO PROVIDE A METER RIGHT NOW. THE DAIRY OPERATIONS ARE ASSUMED TO CONSUME A HALF AN ACRE FOOT PER ACRE PER ACRE OF THE FOOTPRINT OF THE DAIRY OPERATION. AND THAT IS CONSISTENT WITH A STUDY THAT'S BEEN TOUTED IN VARIOUS PLACES UP AND DOWN THE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY.

THAT'S THE NET GROUNDWATER CONSUMPTION WITHIN A DAIRY FACILITY AREA.

SO THAT'S OUR SOURCE FOR THAT. WE STILL DO NOT HAVE POULTRY OPERATIONS OR MEAT OPERATIONS, SO THOSE MAY JUST GET TABLED UNTIL WE GET DATA ASSOCIATED WITH THAT.

AND THAT THAT PARTY WOULD NEED TO JUST USE A WELL OR SORRY, A METER THAT WE'LL HAVE TO PRESUME THAT IS THAT SECTION.

IT OPENED IT FOR CHAIR I'LL GIVE IT BACK TO YOU TO OPEN FOR COMMENTS.

ANY PUBLIC COMMENT ON THAT ITEM? ANY ONLINE CLOSE PUBLIC COMMENT? GO AHEAD. OKAY. WE'RE NOW GOING TO MOVE TO SECTION 111.1, WHICH IS THE APPEAL PROCESS.

AND I GUESS MY PAGE NUMBERING MIGHT VARY. IT'S 43 ON THE WEBSITE.

OKAY. THANK YOU. SO IT'S 1.11 APPEALS. AND WE HAVE AN APPEAL PROCESS WRITTEN HERE THAT ESSENTIALLY, IF THERE IS ANYTHING A PARTY WANTS TO APPEAL WITH REGARD TO THIS RULE WHERE THEY FEEL THAT THE DECISION IMPLEMENTING ANY PORTION OF THIS RULE HAS MAYBE NOT BEEN APPROPRIATELY APPLIED TO THEIR CIRCUMSTANCES. THEY CAN HIT THE PROCESS HERE, LAYS OUT HOW THEY CAN APPEAL THAT A STAFF DETERMINATION BACK TO THE BOARD AND HAVE A DISCUSSION AND THE INTENT WOULD BE YOU HAVE A CERTAIN TIME FRAME, YOU'LL BE NOTICED THAT MAYBE A REQUEST WAS DENIED.

YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE A CHANCE TO APPEAL THAT AND BRING THAT BACK IN FRONT OF THIS BOARD FOR A DISCUSSION.

THAT WILL HAVE INPUT FROM THE STAFF, INPUT FROM THE PARTY MAKING THE APPEAL A DISCUSSION, AND THEN DECISIONS TO EITHER ON THE APPEAL THAT

[01:00:02]

IF I MIGHT INTERRUPT JEANNIE. ON THE ON THIS APPEAL GREG USED THE TERM DISCUSSION IS THAT WOULD THAT BE ACCURATE OR WOULD IT BE MORE OF A HEARING OR A YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN? IT IS TECHNICALLY A HEARING.

OKAY. ALL RIGHT. AND THE ONLY REASON I BRING THAT UP, GREG, IS JUST TO LET PEOPLE KNOW THAT IT'S NOT JUST PEOPLE TALKING ABOUT SOMETHING, BUT THERE WILL BE FACTS AND FINDINGS SO THAT THEY KNOW THAT THEY'LL HAVE THEIR OPPORTUNITY.

AND SO TO GET MORE SPECIFIC ON THAT. AND THANK YOU FOR POINTING THAT OUT ON UNDER 111.1.1.6.

IF RESOLUTION CANNOT BE REACHED BETWEEN THE STAFF AND THE APPEALING PARTY, THE BOARD SHALL HOLD A HEARING AT THE NEXT AVAILABLE BOARD MEETING AND ISSUE A DECISION BASED UPON CONSIDERATION OF THE WRITTEN APPEAL, SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION, STAFF RECOMMENDATION AND TESTIMONY PRESENTED BY THE APPELLANT AT THE HEARING. SO THAT AND A TIME FRAME. ALL APPEALS WILL BE ADDRESSED WITHIN 120 DAYS OF INITIAL SUBMITTAL.

SO IT IS LAYING OUT THE FORMALITIES OF THAT. SO THANK YOU FOR CLARIFYING THAT.

OPEN THAT ONE FOR COMMENT. ANY COMMENT? PUBLIC COMMENT.

NOT ONLINE. OKAY. THANK YOU, GREG. KEEP ROLLING.

YEAH, I LIKE IT. THE FINAL ONE WE'RE GOING TO REVIEW IS 1.12 VARIANCES.

AND HERE'S WHERE THE KEY DIFFERENTIAL IS THE OPENING SENTENCE ON THE VARIANCE.

THE PURPOSE OF THE VARIANCE PROCEDURE IS TO ENABLE DISCRETIONARY RELIEF FROM THE RULE, WHERE IT CAN BE CLEARLY DETERMINED THAT DUE TO UNIQUE CIRCUMSTANCES, THE APPLICANT WOULD SUFFER A SIGNIFICANT AND DISPROPORTIONATE BURDEN SHOULD THE RULE APPLY TO THE OWNER'S PARTICULAR SITUATION, AND THAT THAT CAN BE DEMONSTRATED WHERE THE UNIQUE CIRCUMSTANCES THAT WARRANT VARIANCE APPROVAL MUST BE BOTH SUBSTANTIAL AND DETRIMENTAL.

SO ESSENTIALLY YOU SAY IT'S NOT JUST I DON'T LIKE THE WAY YOU'RE APPLYING THIS RULE SAYING, LOOK, MY SITUATION, THIS RULE JUST IS COMPLETELY WE NEED TO DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT.

ONE OF THE EXAMPLES OF THE VARIANCE THAT WE HAVE TALKED ABOUT IS A SITUATION IN THE SOUTHERN PART OF OUR GSA, WHERE THERE ARE SOME OWNERS WHO ACTUALLY CROSS OVER INTO CHOWCHILLA SUBBASIN.

AND THEIR FIELDS AND IRRIGATION SYSTEMS CROSS THAT.

AND WE HAVE ADOPTED A GSA RULE THAT SAYS NO EXPORT OF GROUNDWATER FROM OUR SERVICE AREA.

WELL, THEY'RE GOING TO REQUIRE AND REQUEST A VARIANCE TO ALLOW THAT HISTORIC IRRIGATION SYSTEM TO STILL FUNCTION AND ALLOW THAT WATER TO MOVE IN THAT WAY, SO LONG AS ALL THE OTHER ELEMENTS ARE BEING TRACKED CONSISTENT WITH THE REST OF THE RULE WOULD LIKELY BE THE DISCUSSION.

BUT THAT'S AN EXAMPLE OF A VARIANCE COMPARED TO JUST AN APPEAL.

I DON'T LIKE THE DECISION STAFF MADE. I WANT TO APPEAL THAT TO THE BOARD.

AND SO THEN THERE ARE RULES ON THE FORMALITIES, WHICH WOULD ALSO INCLUDE A HEARING FOR THAT VARIANCE THAT WOULD BE BROUGHT BEFORE THE BOARD. OKAY. THAT'S PUBLIC COMMENT ON THAT ITEM.

ANY ONLINE. NONE ONLINE? OKAY. ALL RIGHT. ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS FOR GREG? NOPE. I BELIEVE LACEY THERE'S GOING TO BE ANOTHER VERSION RELEASED SOMETIME SOON.

BESIDES THESE OTHER ONES WE JUST REPRESENTED THAT WILL ADDRESS A COUPLE OF OTHER PLACES THAT WERE BEING FURTHER REFINED.

RIGHT? CORRECT. WE'LL HAVE A RED LINE VERSION THAT WE'LL POST ON THE WEBSITE WHEN IT'S RELEASED.

IT'LL BE A MAY DATE ON IT. SOMETIME IN MAY. YEAH.

WITHIN THE NEXT COUPLE DAYS. OH YES. ALL RIGHT.

OKAY. SO ANYBODY IN THE AUDIENCE ARE LISTENING ONLINE.

THERE WILL BE AN UPDATE HERE IN A FEW DAYS ON THE WEBSITE.

OKAY. ALL RIGHT. NUMBER NINE, FISCAL YEAR 2025 BUDGET AMENDMENT.

[9. FY 2024-2025 BUDGET AMENDMENT]

AND THE COUNTY HAS A PROCESS WHERE THE COUNTY GENERALLY DOES NOT ALLOW FOR ACCOUNTS THAT HAVE FUNDS BUDGETED IN THEM TO FOR THE EXPENDITURES IN THOSE ACCOUNTS TO BE MORE THAN WHAT WAS BUDGETED WITHOUT A BUDGET TRANSFER.

AND SO WE DO HAVE JUST A COUPLE OF PLACES IN YOUR ADMINISTRATIVE BUDGET WHERE YOUR EXPENDITURES WERE SLIGHTLY HIGHER THAN WHAT WAS BUDGETED IN THOSE ACCOUNTS.

[01:05:07]

ONE IS YOUR MEMBERSHIP ARE YOUR MEMBERSHIP ACCOUNT, AND IT IS $210 OVER WHAT YOU HAD BUDGETED. AND THIS IS YOUR MEMBERSHIP TO AQUA.

AND THEN THE OTHER WAS THE PUBLIC OUTREACH ACTIVITIES.

THAT WAS ABOUT $222 OVER WHAT WAS BUDGETED. AND PUBLIC OUTREACH INCLUDES THE POSTCARDS THAT YOU DO, WORKSHOPS, RESERVING ROOMS FOR THE WORKSHOPS, THINGS LIKE THAT.

AND SO THIS TRANSFER IS JUST TRANSFERRING THE $432 OUT OF THE WEBSITE DEVELOPMENT AND MAINTENANCE ACCOUNT, WHICH HAD A LITTLE EXTRA DOLLARS IN IT AND INTO THOSE OTHER TWO ACCOUNTS JUST TO TAKE CARE OF THAT.

THE OTHER ONE, IT LOOKS LIKE A LARGER CHANGE, BUT IT REALLY IS NO CHANGE FROM WHAT YOU'VE ALREADY APPROVED.

IN THE PAST, WE HAD BUDGETED AN AMOUNT FOR THE PHASE ONE LAND REPURPOSING PROGRAM, BUT WHAT WE ACTUALLY PAID OUT OF THAT PROGRAM UNDER THE APPROVED CONTRACTS WAS ABOUT $500,000 MORE AT $2 MILLION, 10,958.

AND SO WE ARE INCREASING THE PHASE ONE LAND REPURPOSING PROGRAM BUDGET TO BE THE SAME AS WHAT YOU PAID THIS YEAR TO THOSE AGREEMENTS? THE FUNDS THAT YOU PAID THIS YEAR WERE COLLECTED IN YOUR PRIOR YEAR, AND SO YOU ALREADY HAVE THOSE FUNDS ON HAND.

THEY'RE IN YOUR FUND BALANCE. YOU COLLECTED THEM LAST YEAR.

YOU PAID THEM OUT THIS YEAR. WE JUST DID NOT REFLECT THE APPROPRIATE LAND REPURPOSING PROGRAM EXPENDITURES IN THE BUDGET.

AND SO WE'RE CORRECTING THAT NOW, WHICH WILL REALLY GO A LONG WAYS TOWARDS HELPING US WITH OUR AUDIT NEXT YEAR IF WE HAVE THE BUDGET CORRECT.

AND THAT'S THAT'S ALL I HAVE FOR YOU. SO THIS IS NO ACTUAL CHANGE TO ANYTHING THAT YOU'VE ADOPTED, LIKE ANY AGREEMENTS OR EXPENDITURES YOU'VE ALREADY APPROVED.

OKAY. ANY QUESTIONS OF LACEY? NOPE. I'LL ASK FOR PUBLIC COMMENT.

ANY ONLINE? OKAY. I'LL CLOSE PUBLIC COMMENT. WHAT'S THE PLEASURE OF THE BOARD? I'LL MAKE THE MOTION TO AMEND THE 2025 BUDGET.

YEAH, THANK YOU. I'LL SECOND THAT. OKAY. WE HAVE A MOTION BY DIRECTOR MARCHINI AND A SECOND BY DIRECTOR PARK.

ALL THOSE IN FAVOR SIGNIFY BY SAYING AYE. AYE, AYE.

ANY OPPOSED? MOTION CARRIES UNANIMOUSLY FIVE ZERO.

OKAY, WE'LL MOVE ON TO STAFF REPORT. JUST A BRIEF UPDATE FOR YOU.

[10. STAFF REPORT]

AND FOLLOWING THE DETERMINATIONS INVOICES WILL BE SENT TO THOSE.

THE BOARD WILL HAVE A FUTURE AGENDA ITEM TO CONSIDER THE PARAMETERS FOR PAYMENT PLANS FOR THOSE BACK FEES THAT ARE GOING TO BE ON THE INVOICES.

AND SO THAT'S A AGENDA ITEM IN THE NEXT MEETING I ANTICIPATE.

BUT THE INVOICES, THE DETERMINATIONS WILL BE GOING OUT.

AND THEN FOLLOWING THE DETERMINATIONS THE INVOICES FOR THE BACK FEES WILL BE GOING OUT.

THAT'S JUST A QUICK UPDATE. THAT'S ALL I HAVE OKAY.

ANY QUESTIONS? LACEY MOVE ON TO BOARD REPORTS DIRECTOR PARK.

[11. BOARD REPORTS]

YEAH, I JUST WANT TO BRING UP AGAIN, IF ANYONE IN THIS GSA HAS IRRIGATED PASTURE OF SOME SIZE, WE NEED A SEMI STATION. SO VOLUNTEERS, IF ANYONE HAS IRRIGATED PASTURE, PLEASE COME FORWARD.

THAT'D BE GREAT. SO SEE WHAT WE CAN DO TO HELP TO SUPPORT THAT.

I'M SORRY. WHAT WITH RESPECT TO IRRIGATED PASTURE.

YEAH. SO WE LOST OUR SEMI STATION ON THIS SIDE OF THE COUNTY.

SO OUR SEMI STATION, IT'S A IT'S A GOVERNMENT WEBSITE GOVERNMENT WEATHER STATION AND OPENET AND A LOT OF REMOTE SENSING USES LOCAL WEATHER DATA TO CALIBRATE THE ET RIGHT, OR EVEN ET IN GENERAL FROM THE FARMERS USE ON DIFFERENT WEBSITES, DIFFERENT WEATHER SERVICES. SO WE DON'T HAVE ONE ON THIS SIDE OF THE RIVER, ESSENTIALLY.

SO WHAT THEY'RE USING NOW IS SEMI STATION IN LOS BANOS TO HELP CALIBRATE THE REMOTE SENSING.

WE HAD ONE THAT'S GONE. SO WE NEED, BUT WHAT YOU NEED AN IRRIGATED PASTURE FIELD THAT'S THE BASIS OF EVAPOTRANSPIRATION.

SO WE DON'T HAVE ONE. SO NOW IF ANYONE HAS IRRIGATED PASTURE, MAYBE WE CAN HELP OUT WITH SOME EXTRA ALLOCATION OR SOMETHING TO KEEP IT ALIVE.

SO IF THAT MAKES ANY SENSE. NOT MANY PEOPLE THAT HAVE IRRIGATION, I KNOW BECAUSE OF THE COST OF WATER.

[01:10:08]

YEAH. NO IT DOESN'T. YEAH. OKAY. WELL, OKAY. IF YOU WANT TO HELP, THAT'D BE GREAT.

YEAH, THAT'D BE GREAT. YEAH. AND OKAY. NO, IT CAN BE ANYWHERE IN THE IN THE SUBBASIN .

SO I JUST KNOW MID HAS BEEN WORKING ON AS WELL.

THEY'VE POSTED IT OUT TO THEIR GROWERS AND THEIR LANDOWNERS, IF ANYONE'S WILLING.

I THINK IT HAS TO BE A MINIMUM OF TEN ACRES I BELIEVE.

THEY PREFER 40 OR BETTER, BUT FOR WHAT IT'S WORTH.

WELL, YOU GOT TWO LEADS. YEAH, WE GOT TWO LEADS.

GOT ONE, TWO. I SAW A HAND IN THE BACK, THREE.

GOOD. THREE. YOU GOT THREE HERE. THREE. HERE WE GO.

WE GOT A BIDDING WAR. WHO WANTS IT? WHO'LL DO IT FOR LESS.

WHO'LL DO IT FOR LESS. OKAY, THAT'S MY BOARD REPORT.

ALL RIGHT, THANKS. MR. GALLO. NOPE. ALL RIGHT.

AND I DON'T HAVE ANYTHING EXCEPT THAT OUR NEXT MEETING IS JUNE 12TH 2 P.M.

[12. FUTURE MEETINGS]

THANK YOU ALL FOR PAYING ATTENTION FOR WHAT'S GOING ON.

* This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.