The Kern Water Bank Authority held its Tuesday, April 12, 2022 meeting in person at its Bakersfield headquarters – no remote participation by directors or anyone else. It was nice to get to see folks again. As usual there’s chaos on Highway 99 from construction and the two lane per direction through Tulare County. In Bakersfield they have blocked the Ming Avenue exit from 99 south without notice. You have to go way around. Wouldn’t it be a good thing for the Valley to have six lanes on 99 from the Grapevine to the capital?
This is the first time in two-years the board has met in person. In the boardroom there is a big, big screen 80” or more and HD. General Manager Jon Parker is a very good photographer. He has a great assortment of wildlife photos taken at the water bank from under water and by drone as well. They really pop off the big screen.
The Meeting
Chairman Bill Phillimore called the meeting to order at just a hair after 3:00pm but there was a quorum and with everyone in one place there was no need for Controller/Board Secretary Danelle Lopez to call roll. The minutes were approved. Lopez gave the Treasurer’s report and it was tight. The board approved and went on to pay its expenses. I’ve heard many times the biggest use of power in California is moving water. Of the $2.3 million KWB paid in March $1.6 million was for electricity.
Next Phillimore wanted to know the board’s desire about meetings from now on. His point was it may not be necessary to meet monthly. Attorney Steve Torigiani said there is legislation pending to alter the Brown Act to allow for Zoom meetings on a regular basis. Director Sheridan Nicholas said he likes the in person but expects the state to alter the Brown Act. Director Dennis Atkinson lives part time in Alaska and Phillimore lives part time in Washington. Nothing was resolved but my guess is there may well be a skip in meetings for couple of months when there isn’t much activity on the bank. I have not been to a meeting this year, live or online where any of the directors wanted to only meet remotely. To a man and a woman each of them have expressed the desire to meet in person.
Capital Fee Review
Phillimore started a discussion about how capital fees are managed. Some members pay more capital fees than their participation has cost the group. Some years some members pump more than others is one reason for the variable in expenditures. Those districts who use less than they paid for receive a refund. Phillimore said there can be a difference in how this can benefit the bank and its members. Assistant GM John Ocana said the capital fee management has only been adjusted once in the bank’s 30-year history. The fees have been collected at $20 per a/f and that soon adds up to millions of dollars. As Phillimore said one percent of 10 is much different than one
percent of 50. Ocana is still running some fiscal scenarios to see how this can play out. Another item for thought and further reflection before any vote is taken in a month or two.
Line of Credit Extension
The next item was about a $25 million line of credit. If I understood correctly Ocana said the water bank has spent part the $25 million and would like to extend the rest until August 2nd. The board agreed. As I understand KWB will extend its option to decide what to do with the remainder until August. We’ll see if I got this correct. The KWB board is pretty good at taking me up on my offer to make corrections. Not shy at all and that’s as it should be. Writing accurately about financial matters during meetings can be challenging.
Reports
Superintendent Nick Torres reported on construction and maintenance projects. Parker
spoke about some joint use agreements. Since 2019 KWB has been working to reach an agreement with the Kern County Water Agency for capacity and conveyance issues. I think it’s safe to say it’s a work in process. Director Jason Gianquinto suggested sending a draft agreement to KCWA and Torigiani agreed that would be a good move at this point. While the KWB itself is not a member of KCWA I believe all of the individual KWB members are members of KCWA.
Next Parker spoke about repairing siphons or building new ones on the Strand Ranch property. There are two options or concepts at this point to move water from the east off the Cross Valley Canal onto the water bank. Parker will bring this back to the board as those options are refined.
Ocana also gave the board an update on capital projects and closing the appropriate accounting management accounts for 2021. It costs $850,000 to replace a well and a million dollars to drill a new one. Torres said prioritizing the choice between those options could use an analysis on age, efficiency and other necessary metrics. Staff will bring that back. KWB has 88 permitted wells with another three waiting on standby.
Torres reported on well rehabilitation saying they’ve replaced old well bowls with stainless steel and expect much longer lives. He said the electricians and drillers have been good for showing up in a timely manner.
Parker reported the groundwater elevation is flatter than expected. There could be a drop when the neighboring irrigators fire up their pumps. Water levels are staying above 200 feet below the surface. There is no livestock grazing at this time. Torres explained about channel loss. He said the more water the lower percent of loss. He had the meters tested by DWR and they all tested within acceptable range. Parker added having air bubbles entrained can inflate the numbers a bit. Channel loss is an interesting subject. Water running down a dry, unlined canal soaks into the banks and the bottom until there is a saturation level. There is also evaporation but as I understand it that’s not a real big number.
Committee Reports & Other Things
Parker said the Kern Groundwater Authority is working on GSP revisions and most of the other committees either didn’t meet or there wasn’t anything of note to report. The meeting went into closed session at 4:35pm. An hour and a half in length today’s meeting was the longest KWB I’ve ever attended in person or online. I remember many times driving longer than this meeting lasted to sit through a 20-minute open session. Well, they hadn’t been together in two-years so it was a good time to catch up.
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KERN WATER BANK AUTHORITY
1620 Mill Rock Way, Bakersfield, CA 93311 Office: 661/398-4900 www.kwb.org
Staff: Jon Parker-General Manager, Danelle Lopez-Accountant, Steve Torigiani-Attorney, Nick Torres-Superintendent and John Ocana-Assistant General Manager.
Board: William Phillimore-Chair Westside Mutual Water Company, Sheridan Nicholas-Vice Chair Wheeler Ridge Maricopa Water Storage District, Steve Jackson-Treasurer Dudley Ridge Water District, Dennis Atkinson Tejon Castac Water District, David Beard KCWA Improvement District 4, Jason Gianquinto Semitropic Water Storage District & Rob Yraceburu Westside Mutual Water Company
Located in a large, undeveloped section of the Kern River’s sandy alluvial fan, the Kern Water Bank covers nearly 30 square miles over California’s southern San Joaquin Valley. Ideally situated, both for its unique geology and its proximity to water supply and delivery systems, the Kern Water Bank plays a dual role in California’s economically vital agricultural heartland.
