By Don A. Wright
The San Luis Delta Mendota Water Authority held its board of directors meeting on Thursday, April 9, 2026 at its Los Banos headquarters and online with Zoom. I’d hate to find out Zoom is part of some global cabal with evil, unliberal intentions. But for now I sure do prefer its ease of operations and accessibility. For newer readers it’s good to keep in mind SLDMWA is part of the federal Central Valley Water Project. Also in the CVP is the Friant Division. Many years ago the CVP was built to convey water from Lake Shasta and other Northern California sources through the Delta and down to the San Joaquin Valley. Friant water comes from the San Joaquin River and is conveyed through the eastern portion of the Valley by way of the Friant Kern Canal and the Madera Chowchilla Canal.
Much of this SJR water right was originally going to the old Miller & Lux ranch headquartered in Los Banos. The westside exchanged its SJR water for water from North of the Delta. The Jones Pumping plant and the Delta Mendota Canal brings water that would have come from the SJR to meet the westside needs. So, there’s a direct connection between the operations of the SLDMWA and the Friant Water Authority. That’s why what happens in Shasta can impact what happens in Bakersfield.
The Meeting
Things got rolling at 9:30am with Chairman Cannon Michael calling the meeting to order with a salute to the great flag of the United States. Roll call showed a quorum and the consent calendar was approved. There was no public comment and with Director Justin Diener calling in from a noticed remote location roll call votes were made.
Action Items
CEO Federico Barajas explained the elections of officers was the first item requiring a vote. The same officers were reelected. For good cause according to Barajas – the Chair and other officers have been extremely active and willing to put in the time and knowledge needed to properly represent western water. By the way, William Bourdeau is the Vice Chair.
Legislation
- Scott Petersen had a recommendation from the Water Resources Committee regarding state legislation. There were about 10 bills introduced in Sacramento that impact water. Petersen said:
- AB 1754 by Blanca Pacheco is favored for its transparency to general obligation bonds. He said a favored position will earn lobbying support.
- AB 1772 by Diane Papan is a response on golden mussels, a watch and amend position is recommended and a working group will be formed to deal with this matter. SLDM will be a member of that group and funding has yet to be secured.
- AB 2013 Steve Bennett has created yet another bill not favored unless amended. This time to deal with fire preparedness.
- AB 2026 by Cecilia Aguiar-Curry has a watch and amend and it is a very lengthy and needy bill attempting to establish further groundwater recharge regulations that could be harmful to the San Joaquin water system. The Northern California Water Association is sponsoring the bill so there’s hope for clearer minds working on this bill.
- AB 2032s by Rhodesia Ransom also deals with golden mussels. This bill imposes additional requirements on treating golden mussels and the related permits.
- AB 2218 by Ash Karla deals with the State Water Board’s treatment of grant funding and policy for Native American tribes. This bill needs much work.
- AB 2630 opposed, also by – surprise – Bennett. CEQA exemption on water diversion and measurements as un-challengeable once the State Board adopts them.
- AB 2728 by Esemarelda Soria deals with fish hatchery data management online publishing. It will expand the access to this information.
- ACA 11 Ali Macedo support California Water Resiliency Fund will create a dedicated water infrastructure revenue stream from the General Fund.
- SB 872 by Jerry McNerney creates revenue source neutral fund to provide $150 million annually for levees and $150 million for state owned conveyance. Amend position recommended to expand conveyance facility eligibility to non-state facilities.
Bourdeau said the committee had a detailed discussion regarding the legislation and he supports the recommendations. Director John Varelo pointed out that Petersen only took two breaths during the presentation of this item. Petersen really could be a national newscaster. He’s got a great voice and delivery. I don’t know if that had anything to do with it but the board adopted all the recommendations.
Unblinded By Science
Next Petersen said the committee recommended executing an agreement with MM Water Resources, a consulting firm, for technical support services on advancing the scientific influence of water policy. The US Bureau of Reclamation is going to sign and agreement with MM and SLDM role would be to provide some reimbursable upfront money. The board agreed.
Better communication for the strategic plan needs more funding. Petersen presented the action plan and framework as already funded in the coming fiscal year. It needs a timeline to track progress and a content calendar will be developed. The Lucas Firm is involved in this project and will be creating more newsletters and public outreach incorporating the SLDM goals. It was approved.
Transfer Documents
Water transfers are an important part of moving water to where it’s needed. Pablo Arroyave explained CEQA and NEPA requires a new EIR in 2028. There was going to be a joint NEPA/CEQA plan but changes in federal regulatory positions will require two stand alone documents. A task order has been passed but needs to be ratified to hire the CDM Smith firm for up to $700,000 for help in this efforts. This was approved.
Reports & Awards
The great Dan Keppen former wheel hoss of the Family Farm Alliance was honored. He served as FFA’s Executive Director for more than 20-years. Michael and the board presented Keppen with a proclamation of appreciation for Keppen’s incredible work. I’ve had the pleasure of working with Keppen and he will be sorely missed.
Keppen said he brought some cool weather with him from Oregon and gave a few more words. He said the Central Valley Project Improvement Act’s first eight years yielded the enviros a wish list that was crippling farms. That was the first big challenge that was met. I can’t type fast enough to keep up with the thanks and praise Keppen received from the board. There was an ovation of applause as Keppen received a bundle of gifts and well wishes. They’re going to take him to lunch.
Central California Irrigation District’s General Manage Jarrett Martin presented a proclamation honoring the hard work the SLDM staff did in getting the subbasin’s Groundwater Sustainability Plan out of the clutches of the State Board and back under the tender mercies of the Department of Water Resources.
Arroyave reported the subsidence repairs on the Delta Mendota Canal are waiting for a further cost breakdown by the contractor Peter Kiewit & Sons. He expects things to get going as early as next month. Barajas informed the board the DMC was awarded more than $200 million from the USBR for subsidence correction project. Good for them. He highlighted the partnership with Friant and the good folks at the Bureau, I’m thinking Adam Nickels the USBR Regional Director came through. Barajas also congratulated FWA CEO Johnny Amaral for a similar award they received.
State & Federal Affairs
Petersen informed the board (if I heard correctly) former Congressman and
consultant/lobbyist Dennis Cardoza is living the Foley firm employed by SLDM for its Washington DC needs. That’s going to create a scramble to replace Cardoza.
Petersen said President Donald Trump submitted a $1.4 trillion budget that increases defense spending and reduces service spending. Trump said the fed’s main responsibility is defense and the states will need to step up on their management. Petersen said this is actually a budget “ask” and congress will determine the spending. There is a pending court case that pits the administration against the congressional office of budgets. He said this is a unique set of circumstances. Most of SLDM federal water programs are going to be OK but there are a couple of areas that congress will need to tinker with to get the money flowing.
Petersen said the Army Corps of Engineers has issues of South and Central Delta canal maintenance the SLDM is working on. If I recall correctly it’s been a long while since dredging has taken place in the Delta and the accumulated silt build up has boogered things up pretty bad.
The Farm Bill has passed out of the House and the Senate is holding its cards very close as to what it wants to have in the bill.
Kristen Olsen-Cate gave the state report saying this is the time of year when bills are sorted and about a fourth of them won’t make it any further. She thanked the SLDM staff for their incredible help in the advocacy efforts. She pointed out AB 2032 is up next week for a committee hearing with Arroyave testifying in Sacramento.
She said SB 872 is of particular interest to secure the funding for non-state conveyance. She said Governor Gavin Newsom is expected to present an updated budget that will be substantially different from the budget he presented earlier this year.
There are a number of political races that will impact the SLDM. Petersen added there is an open comment on the exempting of emergency vehicles from Advanced Clean Feet electric conversion mandates being pushed by the California Air Resources Board. Anyone with a relationship with CARB members needs to reach out. He also said flow accounting is on the table and he’ll be staying up to date on these matters.
Where else but California would the state’s unelected regulatory bodies mandate ambulances and firetrucks have to forgo internal combustion engines? Also, Olsen-Cate moderated the recent gubernatorial debate at Fresno State University. Good for her.
Executive Director Report
Barajas said a general managers group established by the Association of California Water Agencies, has written a report on California’s water future directed to the next governor. Four priorities include the need for the new governor to set bold water objectives in the first 100 days amongst other things. He said the draft is in the packet.
Barajas asked Arroyave to update the golden mussel assessment. Arroyave said mitigation measures have been implemented to monitor the spread of the pests. Hot water traps have been installed at the Jones and O’Neill pumping plants. He said staff is creating a forum to spread the facts and what can be done. UV lighting is effective but very expensive. The USBR is researching CO2 as a treatment option. Chemical permitting is a challenge and the California Fish &Wildlife is requiring a golden mussel control plan. Barajas added there are hard copies of the SLDM 2027 budget available outside the boardroom.
Arroyave said the fish screen at Jones is due for cleaning and repairs and that will require a shutdown of two to three units. Hopefully if this weekend’s storm creates a good flow at Vernalis they may be able to add some pumps to the task. He said in late September, early October there will be an outage of the O’Neill plant for transformer repairs. He also said Yuba transfers may not be as plentiful as hoped, if I understood correctly.
Levi Johnson of the Bureau (the man who figures this stuff out) gave a water report saying exports reductions under Decision-1641 will begin Monday April 13th. Johnson said mid April to mid May will be “dynamic” with a lot of variables including possible opportunities depending on the weather. The San Luis Reservoir draws are picking up. There’s a storm system brewing that points to more precipitation at Shasta and New Melones Reservoirs. There are flood releases expected at Folsom Reservoir and this is another reason to complete the South Folsom Canal Project.
Committee/Outside Agency/Board Reports
There weren’t any verbal committee reports given. The Outside reports include FFA and California Farm Water Coalition reports are in the packet. Varela reported ACWA’s search for a new Executive Director has been narrowed down to Karla Nemeth and Adan Ortega. Wow, that’s a mighty impressive short list. Nemeth is the current DWR Director and Ortega is the Chairman of the Metropolitan Water District.
The Water Blueprint, the San Joaquin Valley Collaborative Action Program, the Central Valley Project Water Association and the Great Valley Farm Water Partnership had brief reports given. In summation these organizations are in good hands with very beneficial and doable goals. A lot of it has to do with operating the Delta in a commonsense manner.
Director Chris White spoke about the Los Banos Creek Detention Dam ribbon cutting ceremony saying it was a great success. He said it’s an example of how to get things done in California. With that the meeting went into closed session for nine items of litigation and such. One item caught my eye, “Threat to public services or facility.” Hmm? Go be good to yourselves and others.
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ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Copyright 2026 by Don A. Wright
SAN LUIS & DELTA-MENDOTA WATER AUTHORITY was established in January of 1992 and consists of approximately 2,100,000 acres of 29 federal and exchange water service contractors within the western San Joaquin Valley, San Benito and Santa Clara counties. The governing body of the Authority consists of a 19-member Board of Directors classified into five divisions with directors selected from within each division. The main conveyance is the Delta-Mendota Canal that delivers approximately 3,000,000-acre feet of water within the Authority service area. Of this amount, 2,500,000-acre feet are delivered to highly productive agricultural lands, 150,000 to 200,000-acre feet for municipal and industrial uses, and between 250,000 to 300,000 acre-feet are delivered to wildlife refuges for habitat enhancement and restoration.
Board – Chairman: Cannon Michael, Vice Chair William Bourdeau
Staff – Executive Director: Federico Barajas, COO: Pablo Arroyave, Attorney: Becca Akroyd, Director Finance: Ray Tarka, Director Water Policy: J. Scott Petersen, Director O&M/Facilities: Bob Martin
Email: youtellus@sldmwa.org 209/826-9696
P.O. Box 2157 Los Banos, CA. 93635
DWR SGMA #5-022.07
