By Don A. Wright
The Exchange Contractors board of directors met at its Los Banos headquarters on Friday, August 7, 2026 and by telephone. The full name of the organization is the San Joaquin River Exchange Contractors Water Authority and it is a Joint Powers Authority. Its members are Columbia Canal Company, San Luis Canal Company, Central California Irrigation District and the Firebaugh Canal Water District. A JPA is when two or more entities formally come together to work on a mutual agreement. In this case all four of the entities receive surface water from the federal San Luis Delta Mendota Division of the
Central Valley Project. There is also the San Luis Delta Mendota Water Authority and the Friant Water Authority, both JPAs and both receive federal water from the Central Valley Project
One of many things that makes Ex Con unique is the types of entities – there are two privately owned canal companies, a water district and an irrigation district. You may ask, what’s the difference? While there are individual considerations within each entity it more or less breaks down to how you vote. To vote in an irrigation district or run for the board you must live within the district boundaries. To vote in a water district you must own land within the district boundaries. To vote in a canal company you must own stock in the company. So, as you can see Ex Con has all three.
The Meeting
The meeting was called to order at the scheduled 9:00am starting time with a salute to the flag of the greatest country on earth. Chairman Chris Cardella asked General Manager Chris White if there were any changes to the agenda and there were none. The minutes were approved.
Next roll call was taken and a quorum established. Other folks in the room introduced themselves and the folks calling in also introduced themselves.
Finance
Marisol Bonilla Reynoso gave the expenditures report and the finance committee report. This report ranged from the general budget comparison to the cash activity report. There were a lot of numbers given but I did hear there’s $6 million in the bank. The board approved and this is all public record should you desire details.
Water Report
Adam Hoffman gave the water report saying allocations have yet to change for South of Delta ag contractors. San Luis Reservoir has good storage for this time of year. This year’s July demands were down a bit from last year. There are 360 cfs being released on the San Joaquin River.
Shasta releases are about to decrease and by the end of September there will be more than two million a/f in storage. Temperature releases came early this year. They open the cold water gate in July. Salmon need cold water and the US Bureau of Reclamation is tasked with providing it.
San Luis Reservoir’s federal side demand is tracking below 2020 but for the hotter than usual March. Lake Millerton is drawing down but is still in good shape. Hoffman said Delta inflows are balanced with exports. I believe over the noise of shuffling papers there is maximum pumping from the federal Jones plan and that should continue for the rest of the month. Delta water quality is controlling the pumping.
He said the El Nino is all over the news. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration put out an explanation. As an example in the past a strong El Ninos, 1983 and 1988 are some of the wettest years ever. The last El Nino, I didn’t get the year, was below normal. El Nino doesn’t always mean a wet year.
Exec Direct Report
White said the San Joaquin River Restoration has some funding legislation by Senator Alex Padilla that passed the Senate. He doesn’t expect it to move fast but it is a funding step in the right direction. He said there could be an increase, he called it likely, of westside ag allocation by maybe five percent
Jarrett Martin, General Manager CCID reported on SGMA saying comment letters on the Ex Con Groundwater Sustainability Plan close on August 15th. He said so far there hasn’t been any negatives, so sit and wait is the course.
White said the City of Los Banos reached out to Ex Con when it was found to have hexa-chrome something or other* in its water. The City asked if Ex Con could help with the problem. Surface water, pumping credits, treatment, it’s an issue. The state continues to ratchet down the regulatory compliance without any funds to meet the new thresholds and that’s making things difficult for small cities in the Valley.
There was a meeting with the city manager yesterday and he wants to get the museum creation jump started. White said the City of Los Banos is more responsive with the new management, he was happy to report.
Policy & Program
Steve Chedester reported the Bureau has indicated fish screens and by passes are still moving forward and to expect some word in a couple of weeks. If I understood there is a fish ladder planned for Sac Dam on the SJR.
Chedester reported the Water Blueprint for the San Joaquin Valley has modified its bylaws and the Unified Water Plan is moving forward. On September 16th the Blueprint will have a strategic planning meeting. He believes the Blueprint Technical Committee will get better direction with the UWP in place.
Chedester reported the Orestimba Creek well test is showing good production and quality. He also said there is some traction gained on dealing with Golden Mussels. Testing and protocol is being developed. I believe he said some of the little boogers were found in sand media inside an irrigation filter.
The recharge and recover project is going through CEQA and working on finding some grant money.
White said the Del Puerto Reservoir is waiting for word from the Bureau’s Regional Director and then will go through a Department of Interior review.
Gov’t Mischief
Dave Cory reported the state is looking at more enforceable metrics with shorter timelines for groundwater quality. He said the state is looking at programs that far exceed affordability. If the State Water Resources Control Board doesn’t get involved he expects the enviros to sue.
By January the safe drinking water plans and long-term aquifer management plans will be due. He encouraged everyone to pay attention to this. He doesn’t see this groundwater quality regulatory scheme as another report to be put on the shelf.
White said John Weirsma is Ex Con’s representative on the San Joaquin Valley Drainage Authority. Instead of White they’d like Chedester to become the alternate. As often happens in meetings, the board volunteered him.
More Gov’t Mischief
White reported August 31st will be the last day for bills to wind up. On the state side the legislative report is in the packet. The legislative committee is also tracking federal matters. It looks like the Del Puerto Dam federal funding is moving slowing through the process but it is moving.
Attorney’s Report
Next, Andy McClure of the Minasian law firm said the South Dos Palos case has terminated. The Del Puerto Canyon Reservoir case has published the draft EIR with comments received. It should be adopted as the final EIR which will open the door to further lawsuits from the enviros even though all of this has made it through the courts. He expects they’ll have to fight some law suits as a matter of course, but he didn’t sound worried about it.
Four Managers Report
Jeff Bryant reported FCWD is dealing with a lot of theft and vandalism lately. They are putting in more security measures. He’s scheduling construction with an eye on a possible El Nino. He was able to find some antiques such as a 1911 Miller & Lux electric equipment he can donate to the museum.
Cannon Michael reported SLCC is scaling down deliveries. They are updating rules and regulations for the first time since 2007 and working on engineering and design for its capital projects.
Martin reported they are watching demands for August closely. They are getting ready for the winter maintenance. CCID is looking for practical solutions for water quality.
Information & Closed Session
White said August 20th & 21st there will be an Ag Leadership tour and dinner. He said they have good speakers lined up for that event.
The meeting adjourned at 9:44am. In the past I have sat through marathon Ex Con meetings. This may be one of the shortest ever. Well, that makes sense. Agriculture is cyclical and right now not much is happening. Harvest for the most part is still a ways off and there are no new storms to track and last year’s maintenance is finished. That was that for the August Ex Con report. Go be good to yourselves and others.
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*Where’s Erin Brockovich when you need her help spell stuff?
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, Marisol Bonilla Reynoso – 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.
