By Don A. Wright
The Oakdale Irrigation District Board of Directors held its Tuesday, November 3, 2026 meeting at its headquarters in Oakdale and on Zoom. Oakdale ID provides water and power to more than 80,000 acres. It gets its surface water from the Stanislaus River and if I understand correctly has pre-1914 water rights. That last sentence is a big part of what makes OID an interesting district to keep your eye on. The Stanislaus River is a tributary of the San Joaquin River and these tributary rivers have had a bullseye on them in the rolling clown car wreck known as the Voluntary Agreements, later changed to HRL*, the Healthy
Rivers & Landscapes. HRL is the wilted carrot the state is dangling – the thorn covered stick has been unimpaired flows. Having pre-1914 water rights throws another twist into the mix.
OID is in the middle of the Voluntary Agreements that have hit the east side of the San Joaquin Valley. It gets its surface supplies from the Stanislaus River that feeds the New Melones Reservoir. New Melones has a 2.4 million acre feet storage capacity. The State Water Resources Control Board is trying to increase unrestricted flows through the Delta and out under the Golden Gate. A good deal of this extra water will have to come from somewhere and one of those somewhere’s are the tributary rivers. Oakdale ID has also been leading the way in researching the devastating amount of predation on native salmon populations by the non-native striped bass.
The Meeting
Things got rolling at 9:00am on the dot by Chairman Tom Orvis who asked General Manager Scot Moody to lead the flag salute, the way you should in a public meeting. An additional item was added to the agenda as Item 19, a matter of litigation tucked into the end of closed session. Public Comment was limited to me asking what just happened.
The consent calendar had item three pulled by Director Herman Doornenbal. Doornenbal was concerned about the OID’s obligation to enforce rodent control. It was commented there is a new company that has developed a way to really give the rats and squirrels and gophers a lethal smack down. The board would like to follow the results of this company. Sorry I didn’t get the name.
Action Items
The sole action item was agricultural water user rates for 2027. Sharon Cisneros gave the board a quick rundown of the district’s expenses and how that may impact the rates. It sounded like OID is operating on a current 218 Election cap that hasn’t been reached as of now. She also said they make about twice as much on out of district water sales. She
recommended a seven-percent increase of the acre assessment and the volumetric charges. If I understood all this it comes down to a $2.57/acre foot increase.
The board discussed this and Director, I think it was either Brad or Jacob DeBoer, said he felt the district is providing good service and has fought to keep expenses down. He said he’d jump for joy if he could keep his costs to seven-percent. Director Ed Tobias said he’d like to see the rate closer to two percent. The other DeBoer said the district has been keeping costs and expenses within the range of the 218 increase that provided much less sticker shock.
Orvis spoke saying he commends staff for the good work and management they have brought to the job from the financial side. He said he is willing to go as low as five-percent but not as high as 10-percent. A motion was made for a five percent raise.
A constituent, John Brichetto, not sure I spelled his name correctly, stepped up giving Orvis a blank check. He said the district doesn’t have an income problem – it has an expense problem. He listed equipment and personnel costs as being too high and said employee attrition would yield more income from savings. The vote for a five percent increase passed with only Tobias voting no.
Construction/O&M Update
Joe Kosakiewicz gave the board an update on what the crews have been up to. Dredging canals, repairing erosion, weeding and clearing drains. The district is doing what it can to meet a wet El Nino if it comes. Pipes are becoming a bigger part of OID’s infrastructure and Kosakiewicz said there are five/three-man crews working throughout the district.
I’m guessing it was Brichetto who asked off screen how many of the crew members are truck drivers. Kosakiewicz said all of the crew have a Class A license. He said they’ve found pistols in the pipeline and an ATM machine in the canal. That’s pretty good but in my experience the best one was about 20-years ago when they found an airplane when dewatering the Delta Mendota Canal.
There was a discussion about tree trimming and how the district now has employees with the skill set. There was also talks about how much PG&E trims verses the district.
Reports
The director’s comments were first. Brad DeBoer said he will not be able to attend this coming Friday’s District BBQ/Corn Hole Tournament as he will be out of town. He said he believes the district has delivered a very good irrigation season. He said he has a neighbor who apparently grows ground squirrels as well as almonds and they are getting into the canal bank.
Jacob DeBoer said thanks for a successful water year. He said rates and budgets are a good time for reflection and he appreciated the staff’s good work.
Doornenbal said it was a good water year and he appreciated the O&M report that included a video. He said OID is a “well oiled machine” and he thanked staff.
Tobias said there have been some good work taking place in the district. He looks forward to a great water year and power generation.
Orvis said there was a tour of the Tri-Dam project that took place in the rain. He said the thinning and cleaning of the forest will decrease wildfire and yield more water. There is a great deal of work that comes from the dam. Flood control, irrigation, drinking, wildlife, keeping salt out of the Delta and that’s a lot for a drop of water to do. He plans on attending ACWA in December. And he said there will be a November 20th weed eradication continuing education day.
GM Report
Moody gave the board a water year update. He said there was a big difference between this year and last year’s Octobers and Marchs. He said OID sold Stockton East ID 10,000 a/f and that helped the coffers. Local out of district sales yielded more than $5 million. He also noted the board receives weekly water updates so it’s not that he doesn’t have more to say, but if he continued it’d be redundant.
Legal
Stepfanie Morris said the State Board passed Phase II of the Bay Delta Water Plan in the middle of the night last week. Districts that have accepted the HRL will not be subject to unimpaired flow requirements. Governor Gavin Newsom put out an executive order on El Nino flooding that suspends permitting in certain cases.
Closed Session
The meeting adjourned at 10:08am for closed session. The closed session agenda included seven items of a litigious, real property or personnel matter. That was that in Oakdale. Go be good to yourselves and others.
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*Pronounced – hurl.
OAKDALE ID: 1205 East F Street, Oakdale, CA 95361 www.oakdaleirrigation.com 209/847-0341 OIDGSA’s DWR SGMA NO. 5-022.01
OID holds its board meetings on the first or second Tuesday of the month.
Board: President – Tom Orvis, Ed Tobias, Herman Doornenbal, Brad DeBoer & Jacob DeBoer
Staff: GM – Scot Moody, Superintendent – Joe Kosakiewicz, CFO – Sharon Cisneros, Engineer – Eric Thorburn P.E., HR – Kim Bukhari & General Council – Fred Silva & Stephanie Morris.
From the OID website: The District was formed on November 1, 1909 as an irrigation district of the State of California formed pursuant to the provisions of Division 11 of the California Water Code (the “Act”) for the purpose of delivering irrigation water to the agricultural lands within its boundaries. Geographically, the District encompasses parts of Stanislaus and San Joaquin Counties, about 12 miles northeast of Modesto and 30 miles southeast of Stockton.
Water to supply the District comes principally from the Stanislaus River under well-established adjudicated water rights but also from water reclamation and drainage recovery systems and pumping from deep wells. The District encompasses an area of approximately 80,900 acres, with an additional approximately 77,700 acres within its sphere of influence.
