By Joel Hastings
The Chowchilla Water District board of directors meeting on October 14, 2026 was called to order at 1:30 p.m. by President Roger Schuh in the district offices. With public comment invited, Geoff Vanden Heuvel, representing the Milk Producers Council, described the situation in Merced where a revised GSP had been approved but DWR has said there are “deficiencies” regarding subsidence mitigation. He said subsidence has become “a big deal.” He said he’s concerned because there has been a 2040 deadline (in SGMA) with orderly plans in place but that has now been challenged with what he termed an “obsession” with subsidence.
Vanden Heuvel continued saying some concerns are justified such as the situation causing damage to the Friant-Kern Canal but in other places maybe not so much. Chowchilla Resource Manager Doug Welch said that in Chowchilla’s case, DWR has specifically exempted the Chowchilla’s GSP from DWR’s recently released ‘best management practices’ recommendations
In response to comments from Director Russell Harris about proposed groundwater pumping restrictions along the path of the Friant-Kern Canal, Vanden Heuvel reviewed the situation in several GSAs in Kings and Tulare Counties, including the trial in the suit brought by Kings County Farm Bureau.
The GSA Meeting
With that, President Schuh convened the actual Chowchilla GSA board meeting, inviting Welch’s report. Welch said he agreed with Vanden Heuvel’s assessment of the situation and expressed concern that he’s not sure how DWR can set aside the best management practices issue for Chowchilla. He said they may be more lenient with us if we can show an alternate path to subsidence mitigation. Vanden Heuvel said that the new “BMPs” are recommendations, not regulations.
Vice President Karun Samran said he had heard there are groundwater pumping restrictions in areas around Los Banos and north. He also asked about a GSA requesting “good actor” status to avoid being placed under State Board probation, when things outside a GSA were creating problems. Vanden Heuvel pointed out that the State Board had announced that a substantial fee, as much as $250,000 would be required to investigate a “good actor” application.
With no further discussion, the board adjourned the GSA session and returned to the board agenda at 1:53 p.m.
The Meeting
Office Manager April Ellison delivered the treasurer’s report, citing account balances. Receipts for September totaled $1,106,235.52 while disbursements amounted to $2,897,057.07. The ending balance on September 30 was $24,220,958.48. She also presented the warrants list of bills paid totaling $2,910,436.04 Both reports were approved. General Manager Brandon Tomlinson said the budget was in order and there was no discussion. In response to a question, he said that the district now has 647 acres of recharge basins in various states of completion. He said it has been all hands on deck to finish, aiming for November 1, in order to prepare for winter rains. The minutes of the September 9 meeting were also approved.
The board considered a request for forgiveness of $57.52 in late fees for tax payments. After hearing that the property owners had not followed staff recommendation to pay the full amount owed for two years, about $257, and then request relief, the board took no action. The comment was that they should pay and relief could be considered at a future meeting.
The board declared as surplus equipment to be sent to auction a 1980 single axle trailer with a cement mixer installed, no longer needed with the purchase of a new, larger flatbed trailer.
O&M
Chris Mayo, director of operations, gave his O & M report, citing amounts of water stored in Eastman and Millerton Lakes. He described work done on the Happy Boy recharge pond with a second bypass gate, a new drop structure, and inlet completed. Other work included mowing and sand hauling. He listed the vehicle maintenance work done in the shop, as well. He also had a handout describing a proposed project involving what he called “shotlining” or spraying reinforced concrete inside 1200 feet of an existing 30” pipeline. After reviewing the costs with the directors it was determined that replacing the old pipe with a new one would be more cost effective, so the board took no action.
Raising the Dam
GM Tomlinson said he had attended the Section 203 workshop in Long Beach. Under consideration is a project to have the Army Corps raise the Buchanan Dam by 24 feet thereby creating an additional capacity of some 54,000 AF. The first step would be for the Corps to do a study which in the past they might budget for $3 million. The Corps has said it does not have the funds now. Section 203 allows districts to do the studies for projects like this. Tomlinson will be contacting HDR, the engineering firm that Jason Phillips, former CEO at Friant Water Authority, is employed by to obtain an estimate.
Referring to an oversize check on display, Tomlinson said that Congressman Adam Gray had presented $1 million to the district for covering its share of the costs for the LeGrand Intertie project. He said he’d like a subcommittee of VP Samran and Director Nathan Ray to meet with the LeGrand group to reach agreement on how to best deploy these funds for the project that will link the Merced and Chowchilla Rivers.
It was pointed out that the board’s regular November meeting will fall on Veterans Day, November 11, but that the meeting could be held as usual.
At 2:35 p.m., the board moved into closed session with attorney John Hughes to discuss agreements with the High-Speed Rail Authority that are under negotiation.
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Chowchilla Water District – PO Box 905 – 327 So. Chowchilla Ave., Chowchilla, CA 93610 559/665-3747 website www.cwdwater.com
Staff: General Manager – Brandon Tomlinson; General Resource Manager – Douglas Welch
Board: Roger Schuh – President, Karun Samran – Vice President, Russell Harris, Nathan Ray and Vince Taylor
PROFILE: Formed in 1949, the Chowchilla Water District serves about 85,000 acres situated in southern Merced County and northern Madera County on the eastside of the San Joaquin Valley. The District serves about 85,000 acres in southern Merced and northern Madera Counties. It’s over 400 water users have an average farm size of about 162 acres. Buchanan Dam was constructed in 1975 and is operated and maintained by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The maximum capacity of the dam is 150,000 acre-feet and has a maximum conservation capacity of 140,000 acre-feet. The District also has appropriative water rights issued by the State Water Resources Control Board to divert water from the Chowchilla River. The Madera Canal supplies water from Friant Dam to the Chowchilla Water District. The District has contracted with the Bureau of Reclamation for 55,000 acre-feet of Class 1 Water and 160,000 acre-feet of Class 2 Water. With Madera ID, the District owns the Madera-Chowchilla Water & Power Authority which operates the Madera Canal and four hydroelectric power plants located on the Madera Canal.
The Chowchilla Subbasin’s DWR # is 5-022.06
