By Don A. Wright
The Exchange Contractors board of directors met at its Los Banos headquarters on Friday, February 6, 2026 and by telephone. Perhaps there was some canine relief taking place on a cell tower but I did miss the opening remarks. I’ve been going Ex Con meetings so long I think I could fake it.
My guess is Chairman Chris Cardella called the meeting to order almost, but not quite the scheduled 9:00am start. It takes men like San Luis Delta Mendota Chair Michael Cannon and Fresno Irrigation District Chair Ryan Jacobson to hit it precisely on the nose. Next Executive Director Chris White welcomed everyone and asked for self-introductions. At some point the greatest flag on earth was saluted, the agenda reviewed and approved and the public invited to speak.
I can’t give you public comment I didn’t hear but I’m pretty confident there wasn’t much because I was less than five minutes late joining the meeting. I listened in on a Metropolitan Water District meeting once that had a 45-minute public comment period even though comments were limited to one per speaker no longer than three minutes. It was a bit wearing but had a couple of interesting highlights like protests against fluoride and a group supporting big foot, or some other endangered species not known to roam the wildlands of Los Angeles.
The Meeting
January expenses were approved and the reimbursements for expenses incurred by employees were also approved. The finance committee report including minutes was likewise approved.
Water Report
Adam Hoffman gave the report saying the four entities are 480 cfs in deliveries. The San Joaquin River is releasing less than 400 cfs and that should remain to the end of the month. That may drop but at some point there will be pulse flows that will increase until May.
Shasta storage has declined due to reduced inflows and encroached flood releases. About 10,000 cfs are being released for Delta flows. There are two units pumping at the federal Jones Plant running and that’s holding the federal side of San Luis Reservoir even, but it’s not growing.
If I understood correctly most of the reservoirs are still above average but falling due to lack of precipitation. However, the Shasta allocations should be good due to a massive inflow earlier this year. The outflow through the Delta into the Carquinez Strait is based on last month and higher than the reservoir inflow that has decreased statewide so pumping has to slow down to make up the difference. You can’t dump partially treated wastewater into the Delta and the Bay unless there are freshwater flows to dilute it enough to meet clean water standards.
It looks like some precipitation is heading our way. The problem is the earlier storms have been warm and the snowpack hasn’t built up. These incoming storms appear to be snow producers.
Exec Direct
White reported golden mussels have been found up and down the state. Firebaugh Canal Water District’s General Manager Jeff Bryant reported Arvin Edison WSD has been very active in treating for the invasive species. He said managers are sharing information on how to combat this problem.
White said there will be a Washington DC trip soon and a ribbon cutting at the detention dam in the plans for April 7th.
Jarrett Martin, GM Central California Irrigation District reported on the SGMA situation with an expectation the subbasin is going back to DWR. White said he and Hoffman have been involved in weekly calls that have been very helpful. They are still working with Triangle T WD on supplies and subsidence.
Los Banos was the headquarters of the old Miller & Lux Ranch. If you go to the Ex Con website a newly researched map appears. That’ll be fun to take a look at.
Employee’s Handbook
Agency employee handbooks have to be updated every 10-minutes per state regulatory imposition. Attorney Andy McClure reported medical, family and jury duty leave policy have all been updated. He recommended approval and the board agreed.
Policy & Programs
Steve Chedester reported progress in engineering plans for various San Joaquin River Restoration facilities. He reported last week in Reno at the USBR Conference there are now plans to add a 50-foot fish screen at the Mendota Pools or Sac Dam. I couldn’t hear him clearly. Construction in general is going forward and I heard the same thing in Reno.
Chedester said the Bay Delta plan isn’t getting any warm and fuzzies from the corporate enviros, some fishing organizations and tribes.
Water Resources
Chedester also reported there is work going on for the long-term water rights and recovery wells at one of the projects. The 30- and 40-inch pipes have been installed for the Los Banos Creek project. The only thing left is more compaction. The USBR is working with the State Water Resources Control Board to get the proper water rights secured. I’m all for reduced government such as USAID. But the force reduction in the Bureau and National Oceanic & Atmospheric Agency is negatively impacting the work coming from the good folks at those agencies.
Gov’t Mischief
David Cory reported the nitrate expert panel has been meeting and taking testimony. There will be another panel meeting or two before the March Workshop on the draft report. The panel will look at finalizing its recommendations in May and present the recommendations to the State Board in June. Cory said it’s then up to the State Board to do something with it. I didn’t sense any timeline for the State Board to do this.
Cory said the efforts to get some peer review from the local plans to meet nitrate requirements and present that to the State Board are underway. He said this could have a significant impact on Valley agriculture.
The Regional Water Quality Control Board is looking at implementing a more stringent management plan for the Modesto area. This is of course a wrestling match between corporate enviro attorneys and the regular folks trying to feed people. However, although nitrate has become the biggest boogey man of them all, there are still efforts to deal with salt build up in the soil of the world’s best farmland. The CV Salts, or Central Valley Salts program was designed to protect the soil for crops.
The state has – my opinion here – hijacked CV Salts and interjected nitrate remediation in groundwater. The state doesn’t want to pay for a century of lax zoning ordinance enforcement that allowed migrant labor camps to morph into urban enclaves without proper wells and sanitation.
Water Transfers
Ex Con transfers a good deal of water into and amongst itself. White said a report on proposed transfers will be released next month.
More Gov’t Mischief
White said staff and consultants are working on a packet for the legislative committee to review and develop a plan to deal with proposed state legislation. The deadline for introducing bills in Sacramento is Friday February 20th. I understand about 2,000 bills get shoved into the sausage grinder with about between a dozen and 20 proceeding with impacts, positive and negative, to irrigated ag.
Attorney Report
McClure reported on many cases and I couldn’t keep up for the most part. Comments on the draft CEQA review for the Del Puerto Canyon Dam are underway. He said Ex Con’s comments on the Bay Delta Plan will be further discussed in closed session.
Four Managers Report
Mike Gardner, GM Columbia Canal Company reported maintenance is just about completed and deliveries can start on the 16th.
Bryant said there were a few water deliveries in January. He said they’re using hot water and chemicals to treat golden mussels. The solar site is progressing and that will power some wells for energy savings.
John Weirsma, GM San Luis Canal Company reported little deliveries in January and most of the energy is going to the water transfer and the same slate of directors were reelected. They are working on budgets and audits. It was pointed out SLCC is starting deliveries a day earlier than CCC.
Martin reported some deliveries and are gearing up for water awareness in the school system to keep them safe and educate the next generation.
Information & Closed Session
On February 19th the new deputy director of DWR will be touring the area. Didn’t catch the name. Cardella called it at 9:57am and the board went into closed session for trashcan full of legal matters, 10 or so. There will also be a review of White’s employment agreement. I wouldn’t worry if I where you. So, that’s what happened at the Ex Con’s February meeting. Go be good to each other and yourselves.
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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.
