By Don A. Wright
The board of directors of the Consolidated Irrigation District met at its Selma headquarters on Wednesday, March 12, 2025. There’s a series of storms coming into California starting this evening. That makes me think about how farmers are like frogs and ducks. They love the rain. Of course, too much too quick doesn’t work for them – say in harvest or bloom set. But in general the tone of a water meeting is lighter if it’s raining.
The Central Kings GSA Meeting
The meeting was called to order by Chairman Ray Moles at 1:05pm. The Groundwater Sustainability Agency was the first part of the meeting. General Manager Phil Desatoff gave his report saying the Five Year Sustainable Groundwater Management Act report is due next month. He said there is a Zoom meeting scheduled for Tuesday, March 25th for the well contractors regarding some funding available for the well mitigation program.
Director Paul Sihota asked Assistant GM Michael Carbajal about the source of this funding and come to find out all the GSAs in the Kings Subbasin are eligible for this program. SGMA requires all GSAs to put forth a well mitigation program. The engineering firm Provost & Pritchard has been retained to administer this program. CID is offering a no interest loan. Other GSAs within the subbasin could do the same or offer grants.
The meeting will be for drillers to explain the program and what criteria are expected in both well design, production and expenses. For example there is a requirement the well be drilled 100 feet below the minimum threshold according to the CKGSA’s Groundwater Sustainability Plan. The Program won’t pay for anything deeper and that minimum threshold varies across the GSA. Some wells near the Kings River will be shallower than further west in the district. Provost will administer the program but CID will review the well plans before the permit is released.
Attorney Lauren Layne reported the Kern Subbasin probationary hearing resulted in the State Board pushing the hearing out until June. The Tulare Lake Subbasin court case has reached a milestone but danged if I know what that is. I believe the court has come to some decision but it hasn’t be released yet. Another matter is the ethics training the board has to complete.
In Madera County there was a lawsuit filed against Prop 218 fees. A group of landowners sued. The landowners didn’t pay the fees so the court said the county had the right to charge the fees. A temporary injunction was issued but not imposed. The landowners have to pay and further actions will have to go to trial. Layne said according to what she knows at this time (still waiting for the court order) Madera County could impose the fee and it could be retroactive for three years.
Arshdeep Singh, President of the Punjabi American Growers Group was at this meeting and he asked what lesson could be learned from this. Layne said be sure to conduct your 218 election impeccably. CID is looking at holding a Prop 218 Election this year. Sihota asked about why Provost & Pritchard was conducting the election for $48,000. Turns out they were the only ones to respond to the request for a proposal. Moles commented CID had a history of problems passing 218 elections but when SGMA hit things changed. Landowners were interested in more than just CID paying its bills.
Singh offered to have any 218 material translated into Punjabi and that was well received. This item was informational only and Moles wants to have a special meeting between now and April to decide this. Director Tom Chandler asked former Fresno ID GM Gerry Serrato if FID used P&P for outreach. Serrato said FID used P&P for the engineering report did its own outreach and was an intense effort. The special meeting was tentatively set for next Wednesday at 1:00pm. With that the GSA meeting closed at 1:59pm.
The District Meeting
There was an agenda item that needed to be added and it had to do with a deadline for a USDA grant application that required a board resolution. That was accepted. There were no conflicts of interest and Chandler and Sihota pulled the February accounts payable report from the consent agenda.
Chandler asked about a charge from Independent Ag and it was for portable outhouses. Sihota asked if a new law firm had been hired. Somach, Simons & Dunn has been representing the district on Kings River water rights matters. Layne is with Baker, Manock & Jensen. The consent calendar was approved.
Audits & Tigers & Bears Oh My
Item seven was moved up since Nancy Ramos CPA – Hills, Renaut, Homen & Hughes said she enjoyed working with CID. She said the books looked great and the district passed. I doubly liked her because she said she was going to give a brief report and not bore the board. I’ve never heard a CPA say that before. I have sat through half hour drones where after the CPA left the attorney told the board there is no legal requirement for a verbal report. While much was said, after all was said and done the board accepted the audit report.
Action Items
The agenda has a slot for the review of miscellaneous correspondence that could require action. There was none.
GM Report
Desatoff said the snowpack for this time is smaller than average for this time of year. But right after the snow surveys it snows, then it got unseasonably warm for a while. Yet, with the storm coming in Desatoff believes the Kings River watershed snowpack should be
pretty on track for a normal year. Moles asked if any other Kings River districts have started deliveries and I think I heard Desatoff say Lemoore ID has done so as they had a big slug of water at Pine Flat Reservoir.
Carbajal reported the district’s land acquisition efforts are on track. CID has a goal of expanding its recharge capacity and that requires land for ponding basins. Desatoff gave the board a list of maintenance and construction needs. Some of the infrastructure needs refurbishing and extra maintenance since this is an older district. And there is the question of how to fund things. Sometimes grants are a good source but it can take two years or more in some cases to cash that check.
Serrato commented that water levels within some places in the district are dropping a foot year. He said the 218 strategy seems to be more ponds and he said that’s a good idea. But he believes there are more affordable options from using improvement districts and incorporating more on farm recharge. He said with an average safe yield less than one acre foot he’d like CID to look at more options because he doesn’t see the ultimate sustainable groundwater levels being attained with the land acquisition geared to recharge.
His point was acknowledged and there were questions. Serrato proposed farmers pay for the connections to increase the overall amount of land available to recharge and reduce pumping. He said CID has about 45,000 acres this would work on. It would require a two tier allocation depending on the water year. During wet years the new lands are given water to recharge thus limiting the pumping and giving the landowners an opportunity to contribute to their own future. Grower Steve Jackson was in attendance and endorsed the idea. A 218 election is expensive and increasing on farm recharge will most likely be cheaper and more productive than trying to buy up more land and developing basins.
Desatoff said the problem is most of the land this would apply to is on the western portion of the district and much of that land would have a further westward underground flow. The Serrato Option, that’s what I’m calling it now, would require the landowners to form an improvement district so CID wouldn’t have to go through CEQA.
Grower Liz Hudson asked Layne if the 218 proposal could be written to allow flexibility to allow land acquisition and the Serrato Plan. The answer is yes that could be a viable path to follow.
Next Carbajal reminded us a resolution must be drafted to send to the USDA Rural Development Program for the grant application process to be complete. Layne said this is very similar to a previous resolution and it was passed.
Closed Session
The meeting went into closed session for four items at 3:30pm. That was that, go be good to yourself and others.
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CONSOLIDATED IRRIGATION DISTRICT – 2255 Chandler St, Selma, CA 93662 Telephone; 559/896-1660
CID covers 145,000 acres mostly in South Central Fresno County. Surface water supplies: Kings River CID is its own GSA
General Manager – Phil Desatoff, Attorney – Doug Jensen, Water Master – Walt Frost, Controller – Tonya Ruiz
Board of Directors – President Ray Moles, Tony Lewis, Tom Chandler, Greg Thonesen, Paul Sihota
