By Don A. Wright
The Exchange Contractors board of directors met at its Los Banos headquarters and by telephone on Friday, April 4, 2025. Before the board of directors meeting there was a Groundwater Sustainability Agency meeting. The regular meeting was scheduled to begin at 9:00am. I opted for the call-in, saving an untold amount of lives by not contributing to climate change by not driving to Los Banos.
The Meeting
The meeting began at exactly 9:00am with Chairman Chris Cardella calling things to order. The minutes and the agenda were approved. Public presentations were begun by Executive Director Chris White and the others at the in-person meeting giving self-introductions. This was followed by folks on the phone giving our self-introductions. That was fun as we all spoke over each other.
Finances
White introduced Joe Mastro of Cuttone & Mastro CPAs. Mastro gave the board the financial statements and supplemental data from an independent audit of the years 2023 and 2024. Everything checked out and the board approved the report.
Next the lovely and wise Joann White gave the board an accounting of March, 2025 expenditures and a finance committee budget comparison. The board wisely approved this report.
Water Report
Water Master Adam Hoffman gave his report saying allocations for South of Delta went from 35 to 40 percent CVP. The same with the State Water Project. Friant is bumped up all the way to 100 percent Class I and no Class II as of yet. Releases on the San Joaquin River from Friant Dam are slowing. Shasta has 4.5 million a/f of storage, hallelujah. There are still decent inflows there. Hoffman said federal pumping in the Delta should peak soon. And Friant is filling. As the weather warms up and the storms are about over reservoir inflow will start climbing all over the state.
There is a restriction on Delta pumping due to Old and Middle River flows. The federal Jones Plant will drop to one pump from April 15th to May 15th. During the most opportune time of the year to capture water – the governmental powers are restricting pumping. Which is another way of reducing the food supply.
Shasta is looking at six million a/f this year, this could go to seven million before it’s all over. It depends on which forecast you follow. White said from April through the first half of June is the make or break time for supplies. He said there is an allocation call at the end of April and we’ll see where it goes.
Mitch Partovi asked by phone if the US Bureau of Reclamation will be doing the fish screen maintenance during the April-May slowdown. There’s no knowing for sure but it is likely.
Executive Director’s Report
White began by talking about construction projects taking place. He said the City of Firebaugh is getting some traction on the walking trail next to some canal I didn’t catch. He said he attended the San Luis Canal Company shareholders meeting last Thursday and it was a good meeting. The growers got a chance to hear some interesting and informative things. White reported the transfer committee is taking care of business and that will be covered later in this meeting.
Ex Con is planning to fly to Washington DC later this month for a few days to meet with federal officials. The planned trip to Sacramento will be rescheduled since it’s overlapping with the DC trip.
San Luis Water District and Central California Irrigation District are working with Triangle T WD to get a fallowed pumping plan and other ways of getting the groundwater balanced. Ex Con has also been in touch with the Chowchilla Subbasin about Sustainable Groundwater Management Act matters.
Director of Policy
Steve Chedester said the San Joaquin River Restoration program had an interesting month. It sounded like the fish screen design is moving forward. Davis Engineering was in charge of the design but the Bureau took. Now the Bureau is giving it back to Davis.
I don’t know what is happening with Chedester’s reports but lately it sounds like the board has forced him to wear a bandana over his lower face like an old west stagecoach robber and stand in the corner. It’s a bit hard to hear him. I think he spoke on the Delta Conveyance Project and something about the Water Blueprint for the San Joaquin Valley.
Water Resources Plan
Chedester also gave the water resources plan report and there’s a control panel going in at the Orestimba Creek Project. Someone from the State Water Board’s grant program met about a multimillion dollar grant. The Los Banos Storage permitting has reached a milestone if I heard correctly.
White added the Del Puerto Dam project got a go ahead on the road alignment from the Merced County Board of Supervisors.
Water Transfer Program
The Water Transfer Committee met and recommended the following transfers: three transfers or proposed transfers of water from Central California Irrigation District. Landowner, Redfern Ranches, sent itself 2,645 a/f to San Luis and Westlands Water Districts. Another landowner, Britz, sent itself 881 a/f to Dos Palos T.I.C. and CCID sent San Luis and Westlands Water Districts up to 1,086 a/f.
San Luis Canal Company had four transfers. The first was 8,000 a/f from fallowing to Del Puerto, Triangle T and Westlands Water Districts. W.B. Timber LLC wants to move 186 a/f to Westlands for its own use. A 1,189 a/f groundwater transfer to San Luis, Del Puerto and Panoche WDs and a transfer of up to 5,000 a/f to Panoche WD under the Eastside Conveyance project.
Firebaugh Canal Water District had six proposed transfers. Five of them were under the Conserved Water Transfer Proposals and one was a groundwater exchange. All together it totaled about 9,000 a/f. White said the Conserved transfers are all under a similar agreement. All the water is going to either Westlands, Panoche or Pacheco WDs. White said there will be one more transfer committee meeting and there may be more. But for now, he gave the board his recommendation to approve the transfers. The board said you betcha there feller, transfer away.
The board was also asked to approve Firebaugh’s request for a long term water acquisition
Gov’t Quasingo Mischief
Poor ol’ Dave Cory has to bring bad news, usually. He said the NGOs have provided comments on the groundwater quality plan and they missed the mark. He said the Special Panel to review the nitrates in groundwater regulatory plan members have not been revealed yet. He said the State Board gets UC Berkeley to name the panelists and that’s a black box with no input from anyone. This is being questioned.
Before the Sino Cooties struck there was more cooperation between the NGOs and the ag industry. Since then there has been much turnover in the social and environmental “justice” field, and efforts are being made to get back the relationship.
Legislative Report
White reported Dominic said the state legislature is looking at groundwater more so this session than in the past. On the federal side Congress is working on a continuing resolution and budget items. There is a California delegation looking into the listings of species under the ESA.
Attorney’s Report
Andrew McClure reported the case involving the City of Fresno has nothing going on. The Del Puerto Canyon suit was a winner with the Sierra Clubbers’ legal position being not so good. There has been no settlement yet and the attorney fees have yet to be decided. There was another case – I can hear him but he talks fast – he and the excellent Minasian Law Firm has been earning its keep by keeping Ex Con out of court over something.
He said there was a suit in Bakersfield brought by environmental groups to maintain fish habitat on the Kern River. Under appeal the court said even fish flows are subject to reasonable use. There isn’t a lot of water in the Kern River most of the time. It sounded like the judge kicked it back to the City of Bakersfield and the NGOs to work it out. This left out many of the water right holders and it went to appeal.
McClure said all of the impacted water rights holders have to be a part of the hearing and it isn’t good jurisprudence to have the parties make the decision for the judge, if I understood correctly. He said the 5th District Court of Appeals ruled utilizing all of the water resources in the state for beauty and wildlife is not a reasonable use of water. There is the
state constitution and another water law that can apply to this case and apparently there is some question on the part of the NGOs which over rules which. Hint; it doesn’t look like laws that don’t conform to the constitution have precedent. Seems like common sense to this barn yard lawyer. Some good news from the courts.
Four Managers’ Report
Mike Gardner, General Manager Columbia Canal Company said this March’s deliveries were higher than the six year average.
Jeff Bryant, GM Firebaugh WD said they’re continuing working on solar and well projects. FCWD is looking at getting some enviro work completed.
Jarrett Martin, GM CCID said they’re moving ahead and didn’t have much to report.
John Wiersma, GM SLCC said the PTO on the solar power system is up and running. He also pointed out Bryant’s above and beyond help in some event I couldn’t clearly hear. Good for him.
Info & Closed Session
White said the Water Education Tour is coming to the Party Barn later this month. ACWA is coming up next month. With that the meeting went to closed session at 10:11am for seven items. Go be good to yourselves and others. 
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SAN JOAQUIN RIVER EXCHANGE CONTRACTORS WATER AUTHORITY
Main Office: 541 H Street, P.O. Box 2115 Los Banos, CA 93653 Office 209/827-8616 www.sjrecwa.net Email: contactus@sjrecwa.net
DWR SGMA Identifier #5-022.07
The Exchange Contractors cover almost a quarter of a million acres in Fresno, Madera, Merced and Stanislaus Counties.
Mission Statement
The Exchange Contractors Water Authority mission is to effectively protect the Exchange Contract and maximize local water supply, flexibility and redundancy in order to maintain local control over the members’ water supply.
Board
Chris Cardella -Chair Columbia Canal Company, Mike Stearns-Vice Chair Director Firebaugh Canal Water District, Cannon Michael-Treasurer San Luis Canal Company, Eric Fontana- Director Central California Irrigation District
Staff
Chris White-Executive Director, Steve Chedester- Director Policies & Programs, Adam Hoffman-Water Resources Specialist, Joann White-Director Finance and Human Resources, Darlene O’Brien- Administrative Assistant, Andy McClure-Attorney Minasian Law Firm.
History
From the Exchange Contractors’ website: www.sjrecwa.net The San Joaquin River Exchange Contractors hold some of the oldest water rights in the state, dating back to the late 1800s. The rights were established by Henry Miller of the legendary Miller and Lux cattle empire. In 1871, Henry Miller constructed canals to divert water from the San Joaquin and North Fork of the Kings Rivers for irrigation of his vast acreage. Today, several of the original Miller and Lux canals are operated by the Exchange Contractors.
Although Henry Miller’s canals served the irrigation needs of his estate in the western portion of Fresno, Madera, Merced, and Stanislaus counties, in order for more growth on the east side of the San Joaquin Valley to occur, more water was needed. In 1933, the United States Department of Interior undertook the Central Valley Project, a vast undertaking to build dams throughout the great Central Valley including the Sacramento, American and San Joaquin Rivers. When construction of the Friant Dam (north of Fresno) was under consideration, feasibility studies showed that irrigation development of the Friant Project between Chowchilla and Bakersfield depended upon water being diverted from the San Joaquin River at Friant Dam and brought to the east side of the valley, via the Friant-Kern Canal.
To accomplish this, the government asked the heirs of Miller and Lux to agree to “exchange” where they receive their pre-1914 appropriative and riparian water from the San Joaquin and Kings Rivers for guaranteed deliveries of “substitute” water from the Sacramento River by means of the Delta-Mendota Canal and other facilities of the United States. This agreement, known as the “Exchange Contract,” along with the accompanying “Purchase Contract,” were reached in 1939 and that led to the name “San Joaquin River Exchange Contractors.” In normal years, the Exchange Contractors are guaranteed 100% of their contractual water allotment (840,000 acre feet) and in critical years the amount is 75% (650,000 a/f).
The Exchange Contractors, however, did not abandon their San Joaquin River water rights. Instead, they agreed not to exercise those San Joaquin and Kings Rivers’ water rights if guaranteed water deliveries continued through the Delta-Mendota Canal or other facilities of the United States.
