By Joel Hastings
The Madera Irrigation District board of directors held its regular monthly meeting on October 17, 2023, at the District offices in Madera. A key action was setting a new rate for irrigation and recharge water at $10 per acre/foot to take effect on November 1.
The open meeting began after the hour long executive session with counsel John Kinsey to consider various items in litigation. President Jim Erickson called the public session to order at 2 p.m. After the Pledge, there was no report from the closed session, no conflicts of interest for the open meeting and no public comment. One member of the public attended along with this reporter, Mike Moore from Fresno-Madera Farm Credit.
SGMA
The board moved into its GSA meeting with a report from Assistant General Manager Dina Nolan. She said the purchase of 45 acres in Madera had closed and the engineering staff was working on plans to create another recharge basin. A grower workshop about on-farm
recharge was scheduled for October 18 at the county Farm Bureau office. She said that the District had applied for a grant from DWR to obtain funds to seek help to facilitate cooperation among the GSAs in the Madera Subbasin. She pointed out a press notice that had been released on October 2 announcing a $2.4 million grant for MID landowners to implement on-farm water conservation projects. The deadline for application is November 3 with information available at the NRCS office in Madera. She also invited the board’s attention to a flyer entitled “Consider Before You Convert” on the topic of maximizing use of surface water. Several directors noted this is timely since they had observed trees being pushed over around the District.
Admin Matters
Reconvening as the MID board, the group approved the consent agenda which included meeting minutes, bill payments and financial reports from August and September. Charles Contreras, Operations and Maintenance Manager, presented his report noting the text and pictures in his pages in the board packet. He said the required semi-annual water
measurements were being completed in October. He cited the lengthy list of repairs to leaks around the District as an ongoing challenge with board members expressing approval for the work done. With over 100 miles of pipeline in the District and, happily, a long water season, it was agreed that aggressively updating the District’s infrastructure has to be a priority. Nolan noted that this is the longest water season the District has provided its growers in over 50 years.
General Manager Tom Greci reminded the board that the effort to earn recognition in the Special District Leadership Foundation programs was paying dividends, providing helpful solutions for management in areas of training, OSHA compliance and insurance coverages. He said the District is on its way to achieving the “Platinum” recognition level. Most recently, the District received the District of Distinction Award and AGM Nolan has become a Certified Special District Manager. This work has required the participation of board members as well and Greci thanked them for their efforts.
He announced that the board would not hold its regular meeting in November and that the December meeting would include a budget workshop. He said the quarterly meeting of the Madera – Chowchilla Water & Power Association would be held in November, rather than October. He said that while all four power plants are running, there is some concern about vibrations in one of the rotors which is being operated with extra care so it can keep running through the balance of the season. He concluded, saying he had enjoyed speaking at a Madera Rotary meeting with good questions asked about local water conditions.
Measure T
At 2:30 p.m., by pre-arrangement, the board heard a presentation on Zoom from Kendall Flint, the regional director of communications and strategic planning for MKS, a
transportation planning and engineering consulting firm based in Oakland, Calif. Her firm has been retained by the Madera County Transportation Authority to provide factual information to county citizens about “Measure T,” the one-half percent increase in the sales tax that, if passed with a two-thirds majority, would provide up to $10 million per year in receipts which would be used to fund road and transportation improvements. Over the past 15 years, this program has provided over $319 million but the program failed to pass in 2022. The county board of supervisors has retained MKS to inform the public about the measure which will be on the ballot again in 2024. Flint said her firm is not advocating in favor but is providing information to the
voters. MKS recommends the creation of a citizens steering committee which would set priorities for project funds. It is also recommending that a clear sunset date be included in the vote and that projects accomplished with these funds be clearly identified to the public. MKS is presenting to various community groups. Flint noted that Madera County has the eighth worst road system of all the counties in the state. This struck a chord with several MID directors who cited bad roads near their farms which cause more wear and tear on their trucks and vehicles.
Financial Matters
Continuing the MID meeting agenda, the board discussed and approved payment of $3.4 million to the Bureau of Reclamation for their rate adjustments for water delivered and
maintenance work done in the 2021 – 2022 water year from Millerton Lake and Hensley Lake. Several members expressed frustration that this billing arrives with little notice and not much explanation. It was pointed out during discussion that in some years, the Bureau provides a rebate for overpayment. One million dollars had been put in the current year budget as an estimate of what the “true up” might require. The current balance for unrestricted funds from which this payment will come is $34 million.
At 3 p.m., the board heard by Zoom from CPA Kip Hudson of the Hudson, Henderson & Company firm. He delivered a report of the audit of the District’s 401 a. retirement program. The fund ended the 2022 year with total investments of about $1.2 million. Contributions from employees and the District had totaled $420,000 and the net balance was up about $100,000 from the previous year. He found no fault with the District’s financial administration, a clean audit, and his report was approved with no discussion.
Water Rates
The board then turned its attention to the anticipated issue of water rates. The staff recommendation was that if the current rate of $72.50 stays in place until the end of October, then District budget needs will be met, and the price can be lowered. There was no disagreement with the wish to lower the price, but directors did want to be sure District expenses would be covered as budgeted. As one director noted, coming in with a budget deficit in a year with the highest water volumes ever would not reflect well on their stewardship. After discussion, a rate of $10 per acre/foot was approved for both original district and subordinate lands water which can be used for both irrigation and recharge. Other prices for ancillary uses remain the same.
In a press release announcing the new rate issued the day after the meeting, President Erickson stated, “MID and its landowners have done a great job utilizing the surface water and enhancing our groundwater sustainability. The District is reducing water rates and encouraging all District landowners to continue to use the incredible surface water supply we have this year.”
Staff estimates that available water remaining may total as much as approximately 25,000 acre/feet from Millerton Lake and 10,000 acre/fee from Hensley Lake.
The board approved three more new business items to finish up the agenda. For the 2024 Riparian Water Year, the “run of river” administrative approach will be used. There is a long and complicated history for the District’s administration of water from the Fresno River that is available to a small number of landowners with riparian rights. That will have to be a story for another day. Those property owners are requested to submit their necessary paperwork by January 7th.
The board approved the use of the state law covering “uniform public construction cost accounting.” This gives special districts and public agencies a bit more flexibility in securing bids for smaller construction projects requiring the use of outside firms. The board also approved a minor change in the District’s own bid policy document to reflect this update.
Board Reports
As usual, the final agenda item gives each director an opportunity to comment. Director Brian Davis said he approves of the District “pursuing accolades” from the SDLF. He said sometimes the items may some relatively minor, but, the continuing education builds a better staff and a stronger District. He said he’s glad the District is leaving behind its earlier reputation for “chaos.” He complained about county roads in his area, while hoping the District can continue to handle its own repairs and run water as well.
Director Carl Janzen said he brings up training as a member of the personnel committee on the Friant Power Authority. He said the San Joaquin River Conservancy is still looking for a manager, that the regional ACWA meeting included tours of Tulare Lake and Westlands and discussion of the work of various GSAs. He said the Friant plants are not generating power due to low water levels.
Echoing earlier discussion, Director Dave Loquaci agreed with the benefit of staff training saying he was pleased with the progress of the District he has seen since before he was on the board. He said there is better leadership, better equipment, better staff with training and safety. He said, “Good job, Charles [Contreras].” He finished saying he believes there will be a “lot of guys using a lot of water quickly” with the new $10 rate.
President Erickson said he continues to spend a lot of time on Friant matters as the current chair of the Authority. He’s hopeful there can be successful negotiations with the San Luis Delta Authority. He said the Madera District is definitely being looked at differently than at times in the past. He said he appreciates how Tom [Greci] and Dina [Nolan] help other districts. With no further discussion, he adjourned the meeting about 3:25 p.m.
The next meeting of this board will be October 24th when it will hear public comment about the proposed sale of the 10,000-acre “Madera Ranch” to a non-profit organization aimed at preserving it as natural habitat.
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Madera Irrigation District – 12152 Road 28 ¼ Madera, CA 93637 559/673-3514
Staff: General Manager -Thomas Greci, Assistant GM – Dina Nolan
Board: Jim Erickson, Chair; Tim DaSilva, Brian Davis, Carl Janzen and Dave Loquaci
HISTORY: From www.madera-id.org The Madera Irrigation District (MID or District) 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
