By Joel Hastings. Editor’s note: please see press release following story.
The Madera Irrigation District board of directors met in open session on December 17 was called to order by President Dave Loquaci at 2:00 p.m. in the district office board room. The Pledge Allegiance was recited and roll was called with all directors present. There was no reportable action from the preceding closed session and no potential conflict of interest. Public comment was invited in person and on Zoom, but there was none.
The meeting featured the adoption of a comprehensive domestic well mitigation program, approval of a $30 million-plus annual budget and the reelection of President Loquaci, Vice President Brian Davis and Board Secretary Andrea Sandoval. This report has been prepared from an audio recording of the meeting, since this writer’s holiday trip back East did not allow for in person attendance.
SGMA
The board immediately convened as the Madera ID GSA board and heard updates from Assistant GM Dina Nolan about a grant from NRCS and the recharge / water quality research with Stanford.
The board next moved to consideration of the domestic well mitigation program presented by Nolan. It represents an operational and cost sharing partnership with the City of Madera GSA and the Madera Water District GSA. Eligibility is for landowners within the boundaries of the three GSAs who can show that their wells have gone dry due to declining groundwater levels. There is a non-refundable application fee of $500 and if a well meets the criteria, it will qualify for up to $35,000 for new drilling by an approved firm. Once the project is approved, the owner works directly with the well driller with up to 180 days for the work to be completed. The driller is paid directly by the GSA after the work passes inspection.
Davids Engineering has been selected to administer the program for the GSAs. The cost sharing in year one requires $1 million from MID, $200,000 from the water district and $80,000 from the city. The board approved resolutions establishing the MOU among the GSAs and the details of the actual program. It is anticipated that affected property owners may apply beginning this February.
The Meeting
The MID board meeting was reconvened after about 35 minutes and took up reorganization, with President Loquaci, Vice President Davis and Secretary Sandoval being unanimously approved for another term. The consent agenda was approved including meeting minutes for August and September, financial reports from August, September and October and a warrant list of bills to be paid through December 5 amounting to $6,208,378.52
Charles Contreras presented his detailed engineering, operations and maintenance report referring to the seven pages in the board packet, complete with ample illustrations for work done across the district. He also itemized vehicle and equipment maintenance and repairs along with DOT inspections completed. He listed staff trainings completed with Assistant GM Nolan praising him and the staff for completing all trainings required by the state and insurance this year. He said his staff had also collected figures from monitoring wells around the district showing that there is an average of nearly 229 feet depth to groundwater. This figure compares with 221 a year ago and 201 in the fall two years ago.
GM Report
General Manager Tom Greci in his report spoke first about the repairs being completed for the generator of the Madera – Chowchilla Water & Power Association (MCWPA). A return to full service is expected in February. Regarding water supplies, he noted that December to date had been very dry but that there is quite a lot of water in the reservoirs. He said levels will be closely monitored and if rain and snow arrives, there may be a declaration of surplus water which the District would accept and make available for recharge later in the winter.
Under new business, the board approved an updated agreement with PG&E for its use of river flows of district water through its Crane Valley power generation facility. These fees paid to the district date back to the 1977. Greci explained that this year for the first time the calculation of the amount to be paid is much simpler and predicable at $25 / AF for a 2026 figure of $135,000, and a ten-year commitment including an escalator. The board was happy to see this change and quickly approved the agreement.
Passed next were disclaimer of interest agreements for very small amounts of property being taken by eminent domain for road widening. By filing these documents, the district would not be involved in the properties owned by Mesa Verde Farms and Taylor Creek Farms.
The board heard a report from AGM Nolan that the Trust for Public Land was exercising its option to extend the agreement on the purchase of the 10,000 acres of open land, known as the Madera Ranch, which had been approved in October, 2023.
As part of its strategy to complete a long-term plan for the district’s office and facilities property, the board approved on the recommendation of staff an agreement for architectural services for a site plan and office facility with NJA Architectural of Lodi, Calif. The staff had solicited and received bids from a number of firms and the decision was that NJA would be most qualified and cost effective for the work. The contract also included a list of hourly rates from various members of the firm’s staff, including owner, principal architect and project manager Nick Seward at $250.00 per hour.
Later in the budget session described below, the category of consulting services increased from $480,000 (with only $205,000 spent in 2025) to $951,000, with that increase available for the planning work. The board approved the creation of an ad hoc site plan and facilities committee to provide input to staff, with Directors Carl Janzen and Loquaci volunteering and accepted by the board.
A new fee agreement with the legal firm of Wanger Jones Helsley was approved. This group has provided services since 2015 at discounted rates. Partner John Kinsey provides counsel to the district. Even with this small increase, the budget of $100,000 for legal services remains unchanged for 2026.
Budgets
After a short recess, the board took up the 2026 budget with Controller Jennifer Furstenburg leading the presentation. The proposed budget calls for expenditures of $31,044,000 which includes $10 million for purchase of water and an operating budget of $21,044,000. She said salaries and benefits totaling $7,840,000 or 25% are budgeted. She said capital expenditures are budgeted at $1,465,000 while capital improvement projects total $500,000. Debt service for the 2015 bond will total $2,371,250 while the 2016 bond will require $1,678,500 of debt service. Furstenburg then led the board through a detailed presentation of the budget categories indicating increases, reductions or no changes in each. Contreras did the same for the vehicle and equipment purchases in the budget. Furstenburg concluded with a review of personnel costs and an organization chart showing 69 positions authorized with 58 filled, five vacant and six not funded.
As she finished, Loquaci thanked her and invited comment from the board and the public. Board members had asked questions during the presentations and there was no participation from the public. With that, the board approved the budget by a unanimous roll call vote.
Directors Reports
The meeting concluded with reports from directors. Brandon Bishel passed. Tim DaSilva said that since he doesn’t live on his ranch anymore, he doesn’t see the work in the field as he used to but he has not received any complaints, either. Brian Davis reported on the ACWA meeting in San Diego saying the Energy Committee he serves on continues to lament the impracticality of electric vehicles for districts in rural areas. He said it’s noted that solar can provide power but that vehicles are operated in the day time so expensive battery storage will be an issue. Speaking about the Friant Water Association, he noted the planned departure of CEO Jason Phillips, but that the new staff he has been assembling is impressive. He concluded by saying he thought the district budget looks good and he extended wishes to all for a Merry Christmas.
Carl Janzen said that he attended a meeting of JPIA (California Joint Powers Insurance Authority), the self-insurance arm of many public agencies in the state. He said all insurance rates will be going up, with liability by five percent and property by ten percent. He said earthquake insurance will be offered based on a formula for how much the ground actually moves, not just a number on the Richter Scale. He too commented on the Friant staffing noting a new attorney recently hired with what he thought were excellent credentials.
President Loquaci saying he had no further comment concluded the open session about 4:35 p.m.
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Madera Irrigation District – 12152 Road 28 ¼ Madera, CA 93637 phone 559/673-3514
Staff: General Manager -Thomas Greci, Assistant GM – Dina Nolan
Board: Dave Loquaci, president; Brian Davis, vice-president, Brandon Bishel, Tim DaSilva and Carl Janzen
HISTORY: From www.madera-id.org The Madera Irrigation District (MID or District), founded in 1920, encompasses an area of approximately 139,665 acres. MID operates a primarily gravity irrigation distribution system with approximately 300 miles of open flow canal systems as well as 150 miles of large diameter pipelines.
The District has a Central Valley Project (CVP) repayment contract with United States Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) providing up to 85,000 acre feet (AF) of Class 1 and 186,000 AF of Class 2 water per year from the Friant Division (Millerton Lake). The CVP water is released from Millerton Lake through the Friant Dam, and then conveyed through the Madera Canal for delivery into the District’s service area. The District also entered into a CVP repayment contract with the USBR for the yield from the Hidden Unit (Hensley Lake). Under the Hidden Unit contract, the average annual supply available to the District is approximately 24,000 AF per year.
DWR SGMA # 5-022.06
Press Release by Madera Irrigation District
Contact: Name: Thomas Greci, General Manager (559) 673-3514
MADERA IRRIGATION DISTRICT IS BEGINNING WATER DELIVERIES AND GROUNDWATER RECHARGE EFFORTS
Madera Irrigation District (MID or District) is beginning water releases to alleviate flood potential, provide surface water delivery to District landowners, and commence groundwater recharge efforts.
The MID Board of Directors at the January 6, 2026 Special Board Meeting made the decision to allow operations to begin immediately. The Board of Directors is providing this water at a reduced cost to promote use and recharge, benefiting District growers while supplementing the groundwater aquifer. The District is also continuing to support MID’s On-Farm Recharge Program, encouraging District growers to actively recharge surface water on their crops during these periods when water is available. The rate for Original District Landowners is currently set at $10 per acre foot and the rate for Subordinate Landowners is $20 per acre foot.
“MID has positioned itself to take advantage of these opportunities” stated Board President Dave Loquaci. “Investing in recharge basins, educating our growers on On-Farm Recharge opportunities, and being financially stable to offer the water at a reduced rate is key during times like these and for the future sustainability of the District.”
MID growers interested in taking advantage of this water supply must fill out a Crop Water Application and order water prior to taking any deliveries, the availability will be location dependent. The District is encouraging all MID growers with the ability to take surface water to do so now, as the extent and duration are unknown.
MID is accepting Crop Water Applications and water orders now. To sign up or to order water please contact the office at 559-673-3514 or at Madera Irrigation District, 12152 Road 28 ¼, Madera, CA. Crop water applications will be accepted via email and in-person.
The District would also like to remind growers that they can view their water usage and account balances online via WaterUI. If you need log-in assistance, please contact MID at 559-673-3514. For more information about MID, please visit www.madera-id.org.
