Elected at the May 8 meeting of the Chowchilla Water District board were Roger Schuh, president, left and Karun Samran, vice president. -photo by Joel Hastings, WaterWrights
By Joel Hastings
The Chowchilla Water District board of directors met in its regular monthly meeting on May 8, 2024, at the District offices in Chowchilla. Vice President Roger Schuh called the session to order at 1:33 p.m., with directors Karun Samran and Vince Taylor present making a quorum. With public comment invited, Geoff Vanden Heuvel, Vice Chair of the Water Blueprint of the San Joaquin Valley, said he was coming from the ACWA offices in Sacramento attending the signing of an MOU between the Blueprint and the Metropolitan
Water District of Southern California. The Met is looking for water storage opportunities with Valley water districts in wet years like this one. The recipient of a large percentage of water from the state water project, the Met had earlier reached agreements with Friant and Westlands. No stranger to this group in his role with the Milk Producers Council, Vanden Heuvel thanked the CWD directors for their support of the Blueprint. Also attending here but not speaking were Phil Janzen of Agrilands Farming and Jonathan Haber of Fresno/Madera Farm Credit.
While there were no additions or deletions from the agenda, the report from Austin Ewell of the Ewell Group was made the next item of business. He Zoomed in from Sacramento since he also wears the Blueprint’s executive director’s hat. He reported on continuing progress on the effort to have the Army Corps raise the Buchanan Dam. He explained that the Corps has determined it does have the authority to take the first step, doing a feasibility study of the project. Finding the funds for the Corps budget is the next
challenge. Ewell said that area Congress members are all supportive so he’s hopeful the project will be included in the FY 2026 budget. He also said the Self Help Enterprises organization had been clear on the need for improved drinking water with Senator Padilla’s staff in the communities of Fairmead and Planada, along with the cities of Madera, Chowchilla and Merced. Winding up his discussion at 1:50 p.m., Ewell explained that even if things proceed smoothly, this will be a five to ten year project.
SGMA
VP Schuh then convened the GSA board meeting to hear a report on monitoring wells presented by Resource Manager Doug Welch. It is required that records from the monitoring wells be compiled twice a year in March and October. Using a number of slides to show results from monitoring wells around the District, Welch demonstrated how the wet
year had slowed the depletion of groundwater. In several locations, groundwater levels are higher. Welch explained how “nested wells” can monitor water depth in three ranges above and below the Corcoran clay layer, which itself is widely varied across District areas. The bottom line, he said, is that groundwater losses were not as large as had been predicted in the modeling done for the GSP.
Returning to the regular CWD session at 2:10 p.m., the board heard the financial reports from Treasurer Lola Beatty. She reported receipts for April of $281,233.72 and expenditures of $1,532,830.13 for a balance on May 1 of $14,137,302.90. The board approved bills for payment as of May 8 totaling $1,875.140.59. Also approved was the budget report.
Minutes were approved for the regular meeting held on April 10 and a special closed session on April 26.
O&M
Chris Mayo gave his operations and maintenance report noting that with the start of the water season, when water is running things happen. Various pipeline and gate repairs were completed across the District. He also reported on efforts to locate several heavy duty
Chevy trucks which are in short supply in California. He said it’s also tough to find the two-door, short-bed pickups that are so useful. The four-door long bed versions are more profitable for Chevy, he said. The new backhoe has been delivered and the Western Star dump truck is currently being manufactured.
GM Brandon Tomlinson gave his water report confirming that the Class 1 allocation from Friant had been increased from 95 to 100 percent. He said several blocks of water had been made available to be used by mid-May or early June in an effort to keep water levels under control on Millerton Lake as the weather warms up and mountain snows melt at a faster rate. It is expected that water will be available for delivery into September. Availability and pricing of water to subordinate lands will be considered at future meetings. He said they are waiting for decisions from the Bureau and then they can react.
With the passing of Kole Upton, who was president, as reported elsewhere, the board unanimously elected Schuh as president and Samran as vice-president. A new director will need to be elected by voters in the District to fill the seat held by Upton. The required public notifications are getting underway.
With no further business, the meeting adjourned at 2:45 p.m.
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Chowchilla Water District – PO Box 905 – 327 So. Chowchilla Ave., Chowchilla, CA 93610 DWR SGMA#5-022.05
559/665-3747 website www.cwdwater.com
Staff: General Manager – Brandon Tomlinson; General Resource Manager – Douglas Welch; Lola Beatty – Treasurer
Board: Roger Schuh – President, Karun Samran – Vice President, Russell Harris 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.
