By Joel Hastings
President Roger Schuh called to order the regular monthly meeting of the Chowchilla Water District at 1:32 p.m. on March 12, 2025 in the board room of the district offices in Chowchilla. All directors were present along with four staff and one member of the public, Eric Rodriguez, a technical assistant for under-represented communities (URCTA), under the auspices of DWR and UC Extension for Fresno and Madera Counties.
Public Comment
With public comment invited, Rodriguez introduced himself and his role, aimed specifically at providing technical assistance to smaller farmers including tribal members. He said he assists with designing wells, other water structures and attending GSA or water district meetings. He said he had no regulatory power, explaining that when the revied GSP for the Chowchilla Subbasin was open for discussion, he had several questions. That said and with no agenda changes, Schuh convened the GSA board meeting in public hearing and invited Rodriguez’ comments.
Public Hearing
Rodriguez said he had seen the redlined copy of the revised GSP which he appreciated. Noting that in the Central Kings GSP, both assessments for projects and increased water
rates were allowed, he asked if that would be the case in the Chowchilla Subbasin GSP. Are you deciding if the GSA will have a 218 proposition for projects, he asked. GM Brandon Tomlinson replied that in the case of Chowchilla WD GSA, which is only one of four GSAs for the subbasin, one assessment was sunsetting in December and they were considering a 218 vote for projects in that same amount.
Rodriguez said monitoring wells are described in the GSP, but he asked if there was a map. He was told there was and that a copy could be provided to him.
He then asked if demand management actions would be imposed only if monitoring wells fall below certain levels, as noted in the Plan. Tomlinson replied that a demand management program is being developed by an engineering firm and that it may happen as soon as 2026.
Rodriguez said that plans in the region all call for use of flood waters for recharge in wet years and he wondered, since wet years haven’t been the rule, should more diverse approaches be considered. He noted the Madera County is doing land repurposing. Schuh replied that the MLRP plans currently only are available in the Madera Subbasin, not Chowchilla. [Editor’s note: We are informed that MLRP is available in all three subbasins in Madera and all 14 GSAS.]
There was further discussion about the availability of surface water, with Rodriguez noting that if everyone was relying on flood waters for recharge, there might not be enough so wouldn’t more diverse sources be preferred? Schuh explained that with water rights in the District, some would get water and some wouldn’t. He said that as a white area landowner, he himself could be a loser. Throughout, the discussion had been congenial, and Rodriguez thanked them for their comments. Schuh said the questions had been welcome.
The board moved to close the public hearing at 1:50 p.m. and took up the resolution to approve the changes in the revised GSP. Tomlinson that the Resource Manager Doug Welch was not able to attend due to illness and that Madera County GSA had given approval yesterday. He said the State Board staff will complete their review in late April and that the full board would consider the revised GSP at their meeting on June 3 to make a final decision. He said if it’s positive, it will put us back with DWR. The board then adopted the resolution to approve with a unanimous roll call vote.
CWD Meeting
Reconvening as the water district board, the group heard April Garay deliver the account balances in the treasurer’s report. The beginning balance on February 1 had been $18,909,176.30. Receipts for the month were $177,860.66 and disbursements $1,099,101.51 with a resulting balance on March 1 of $17,916,192.01. Vice President Karun Samran asked how late payments for assessments are trending. I could not hear the reply but apparently things are going OK, and the report was accepted.
The warrant list of bills totaling $1,033,549.56 was approved without discussion.
Samran said that the property purchase had closed with the big payment of $636,000 showing up in the list.
The minutes of the meetings held February 12 and 26 were approved.
A request for relief from the penalty on late payment of fees was heard. After consideration of the explanation – the couple had recently purchased the property and had not been told of the outstanding bill – relief from $41.62 was granted.
Real Estate
Moving on, 20 acres of irrigated land with a single family home and pool had been declared excess. The formal appraisal pegged the value at $680,000, included in the board packet.
Bids from the public had been invited and three sealed bids had been received which the board proceeded to open and consider. Bid #1 was for $350,000 cash. Bid #2 was from Travis Mathews and Clarissa Ostrowski for $650,000, contingent on the sale of their current property. Their letter said they had bank approval for a $680,000 mortgage with a 15 percent down payment required. They added they would give the District first right of refusal if they sold the property and that if more than 60 to 90 days was required, they offered to pay a lease until the sale closed. They invited a counter offer.
Bid #3 was from a Mr. Vander Dussen for $580,000. He did not specify cash, so a phone call was made right then with a cash offer confirmed.
The board then discussed the bids. It was noted the lease wasn’t of particular interest since they would have already rented it. The observation was made that financing on this property might be unique, since it wasn’t enough land for conventional ag lending but more than for just a house and lot. Concluding the discussion, the board accepted none of the bids, but Director Vince Taylor was authorized to discuss the offer with Mathews and Ostroski to clarify possible terms. With no formal action taken, Schuh said the board will gather more information and consider the sale at its next meeting.
Budget
Next up was consideration of the district budget for 2025, with the initial focus on capital expenditures. The board discussed the purchase of property called Cornaggia Pond with a recharge basin to be built, all in the budget for $1 million. Construction of a recharge basin at Toku Pond was $600,000. There was agreement on the projects but discussion of whether it would be included in the annual budget or financed from reserves… that discussion continued later and is described below.
One other big ticket item was purchase of a new Caterpillar grader for $565,000.
Other equipment includes several trucks, an air compressor, a cement mixer and new shop doors.
Tomlinson explained the budget is based on a price of $169 / AF for Class 1 water at 45 percent allocation, currently offered by the Bureau. The question the directors discussed was putting $2.5 million for land purchase and basin construction in this year’s budget or taking the funds out of reserves. If that amount is taken from the district’s $18 million in reserves, the water rate could drop to $130 / AF.
Schuh said that capital purchases are what the reserves are for. Taylor replied that reserves are for short water years, to keep the district operating when water sales are down.
Everyone agreed that setting a water price so all the available water would be sold to growers was the ultimate goal. This is exactly the challenge faced by every irrigation district, large or small in wet years or dry.
At that, Director Russell Harris moved to pass the budget as presented. Amounts included show total revenue from water operations at nearly $14 million and with additional capital and non-operating expenses added in, a total expense figure of $19,492,341. A loss of $666,044 is projected leaving a reserve balance of over $16 million. There was a second and the motion carried.
Eric Rodriguez asked to speak and said that doing the math for small farms, the $169 / AF price doesn’t work for the 50-acre specialty crop farmer who buys two acre/feet per acre. Director Nathan Ray said we are all lucky we have water and all farmers, large or small, have to pay for it to keep the district in business. He said DWR has limited water markets which protects smaller growers. Schuh said just because we have more acres, we feel the same pain, asking if he wanted the district to do recharge.
Next the board declared an old double-wide trailer and two different steel barns as surplus property. The goal is he turn them over to a buyer who will agree to remove them in exchange. Getting them moved without charge is good enough.
O&M
Operations Manager Chris Mayo gave his Operations & Maintenance report noting the increase in lake level at Eastman (8,355 AF) and Millerton (39,387 AF). He said there had been burning at Bethel, Eastman, Berenda and LaBranza Canals, along with various other maintenance activities, including cleaning the barbecue pits at the fairgrounds. Only a bit of routine maintenance had been done at the shop since the head mechanic had been away at truck driving school to get his license updated.
GM Report
Delivering his general manager’s report, Tomlinson update lake levels and precipitation totals. He said that the Triangle T Water District had only been comfortable committing to
800 AF of transfer water, so the agreement approved last time was amended. He said there had been meetings with Congressmembers Adam Gray and Tom McClintock continuing to press for support for the raising of the Buchanan Dam. Both are supportive and Tomlinson said he’s completed the application for the feasibility study on the dam by the Army Corps with its $3 million price tag.
He said the Bureau has requested schedules for delivering larger amounts of water at 65 percent, 80 percent and 100 percent of Class 1. He said if the current storms deliver, there could be a 12-week irrigation season. The board can decide when to start the season and set the water price at next month’ s meeting.
With no individual reports from directors, the meeting recessed to closed session at 3:35 p.m.
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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
