By Joel Hastings
The Madera County board of supervisors acting as the board of the Madera GSA held a meeting in the Madera County office building on March 11, 2025, called to order at 1:30 p.m. by Acting Chair Robert Macaulay. Supervisors Leticia Gonzalez and Rob Poythress were not present.
The first four agenda items involved approving the latest revisions in the Chowchilla Subbasin GSP. The plan must be approved by the Madera County GSA and the GSAs covered by the Chowchilla Water District, the Triangle T Water District, the County of Merced and the Chowchilla Management Zone. Stephanie Anagnoson, director of the department of water and natural resources, provided an overview. She said the goal in approving the revised GSP is to move back from the control of the State Water Resources Control Board to the Department of Water Resources. She introduced John Davidson of Davidson Engineering whose firm has been on point in discussions with the State Board and in drafting the changes.
He too emphasized that the goal here is to return as soon as possible to the control of the DWR in order to avoid a probationary hearing by the State Board which would have the very real potential of imposing onerous requirements on the landowners in the subbasin.
He then presented detail on the revisions included in this final version of the GSP. He covered revisions to the domestic well mitigation program, explaining that the plan confirms mitigation will be provided to domestic wells caused by both declining groundwater levels and degraded water quality. Temporary mitigation such as installation of tanks and delivery of bottled water will be provided, well repairs costing over $30,000 will be reviewed on a case by case basis and no state or federal funds will be used for mitigation.
He explained that the Chowchilla Management Zone was created “to get things done” in the areas of groundwater monitoring, testing domestic wells for water quality, developing a plan to site new wells and mitigation of dry wells. He credited Sara Woolf with this concept, and he said the State Board thinks it’s a great idea… providing a mechanism for the GSAs to work together in a practical way. Woolf’s consulting firm manages the Triangle T WD as well as other projects.
Davidson went on to describe in some technical detail how the revised plan now includes actions in the areas of demand management (i.e., required reduction in groundwater use), ground subsidence and triggers that would require action if groundwater levels dropped faster than planned.
He also described what he called “fix it” items which are areas to be addressed in future plan amendments including a requirement that dry wells must be addressed within 24 hours of notification by a well owner, as well as items about interconnected surface waters and water quality. He concluded with a summary of the GSP revisions and the timeline of the public hearings that have been ongoing in all of the GSAs.
(Editor’s note: The full slide set presented here is or will be posted on the Department’s web site at www.maderacountywater.com)
Anagnoson returned to the podium to explain that Merced GSA was acting today, Chowchilla would take action tomorrow (March 12) and Triangle T on March 13. She said the State Board has asked for action this week so that their staff could review the plan by the end of April.
At this point at 1:51 p.m. Chair Macaulay opened the public hearing. With no comment from board members David Rogers and Jordon Wamhoff, local grower Mark Peters spoke first. He said he realized this was for the Chowchilla Subbasin, but he urged this approach be used to find a path forward for the Madera Subbasin. He cited the judge’s
finding last week in the lawsuit by local growers. He said that while the judge found the suit would not be dismissed and the trial would go forward, the county would be allowed to assess fees. Peters cited an earlier news release from Anagnoson’s office which said that fees would not necessarily be imposed at the same level and not retroactively. Peters expressed appreciation for this offer for a new round of public discussion. He said he hoped the county would begin at once to find new solutions, including a possible reduction of the current $246 per acre fee.
Another grower, Ralph Pistoresi, who is involved in this lawsuit, said he hadn’t realized this meeting was happening today and that he had been in the county office building on other business. Nevertheless, he said regarding domestic well mitigation, that Chowchilla does not have nearly the number of wells that Madera does. He said wells are expensive to repair from $30,000 to $50,000 and he asked where the money would come from in Madera? He said it was not fair or reasonable that these all costs should fall on white area farmers. He claimed the judge’s decision had caused an immediate drop in property values for white area land by as much as $10,000 per acre.
The final comment came online from Noah Lopez speaking for the Madera Ag Water Association (MAWA). He said he agreed with Mr. Peters that the county should “get going” to find solutions. He also thanked the group for creating a working committee to preview GSA plans before they reached the full board of supervisors. A meeting had been held the previous week… see below for a brief summary.
With no further comment, Rogers moved to approve the revised GSP and related motions to implement MOUs with the other GSAs to establish demand management programs, subsidence mitigation measures and the domestic well mitigation program. Anagnoson said she wanted to be clear that this resolution is for the Chowchilla Subbasin and it’s not about fees in Madera. She said well mitigation costs are shared in Chowchilla, not just by white area growers but also by the irrigation districts and a separate group of growers. With that, Supervisor Wamhoff provided a second to the motion and the vote carried 3 – 0.
Supervisor Rogers said that the board has no wish to control local farmers but does have to deal with these state regulations ( i.e., SGMA). He urged people to bring forward their ideas and he thanked those who had commented.
The next agenda item was for informational purposes, not action. Anagnoson reviewed the activities carried out by her Department around the GSA in 2024 and those planned for 2025.
Next, she presented for board approval a contract with Davidson Engineering to assist with implementation of accounting methods for county landowners’ use of water flow meters and the two satellite systems, Hydrosat (formerly Irriwatch) and Land IQ. The contract calls for a total budget of $551,409.88, but she said the actual costs would likely be significantly less. Supervisor Wamhoff asked how those costs would be covered. She replied from the established $27 / acre administrative fee currently in place. The contract was approved.
The final item of business was approval for the creation of an account within the county budget for depositing any overdraft fees in Chowchilla. By agreement, these funds are to be paid to the Chowchilla Water District for their administration of the domestic well mitigation program there. The current amount is $10,300.
With no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 2:15 p.m.
Madera GSA Committee Meets
At its meeting on January 28, the GSA board had created a committee to meet ahead of full board meetings. It would be composed of two supervisors with the public invited to discuss items on the board agenda or address other topics related to the GSA. The first meeting was held March 4 at 1:30 p.m. in the supervisors meeting room in the county office building. Supervisor Letitia Gonzalez was chair. Supervisor Robert Macaulay is the other member but in his absence this day, Supervisor David Rogers participated. The body conforms to the Brown Act in terms of full notice and public participation with less than a quorum of supervisors. The meetings are available in real time on Zoom and video recordings are to be posted on the county website. While the committee cannot take action, its role is to recommend, or not, actions for the full board.
At this first meeting, Anagnoson previewed the revised Chowchilla Subbasin GSP and the other agenda items described in the board report above. Six members of the public attended, offering their comments on the various agenda items and several other topics. While each one had his or her points to make with suggestions and requests in addition to the board agenda, they were, with one exception, generally in support of items set for the board meeting the following week.
More importantly, they were clearly enthusiastic about the creation of the committee which provides this opportunity for discussion and consideration of agenda items and related issues before reaching the full board. As grower Kevin Herman said, “We’re not coming here to tell you what to do, but instead to give you ideas that you can explore and create a better product when it comes to the supervisors meeting.”
Others speaking at this first meeting were local growers Devin Aviles, Larkin Harmon, Howard Jacquith, Mark Peters and MAWA’s Noah Lopez.
The meeting was convened at 1:30 p.m. and lasted for about an hour and a half. It will be held monthly on the first Tuesday.
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Madera County is comprised of three subbasins, designated by the CA Department of Water Resources as critically overdrafted, and “high priority”: (1) the Chowchilla Subbasin; (2) the Madera Subbasin; and (3) a portion of the Delta-Mendota Subbasin. Each of these subbasins submitted a Groundwater Sustainability Plan (GSP) by January 31, 2020. These subbasins are required to achieve “sustainability” by the year 2040. The method by which sustainability will be achieved will be illustrated in the GSP, which was be drafted in partnership by the irrigation district, water districts, cities and Madera County. The Madera County Groundwater Sustainability Agency (GSA) is administered by the Madera County Department of Water and Natural Resources: Stephanie Anagnoson, Director, 200 W. Fourth Street, Madera, CA 93637, (559) 675-7703 x. 2265 or (559) 675-6573. The County of Madera Board of Supervisors is the Board of Directors of the GSA for the three subbasins. The current board is composed of five members: Letitia Gonzalez, Robert Macaulay, Robert Poythress, David Rogers and Jordon Wamhoff..
The Madera Subbasin’s DWR # is 5-022.06
