By Nick Edsall
The Regular Meeting of the Board of Directors of the Tehama -Colusa Canal Authority (TCCA) was held June 4th, 2025, at 9:00 A.M. at TCCA Headquarters at 5513 Hwy 162 Willows, CA.
The meeting was called to order and a quorum was determined by Board Chairman Zach Dennis. After the Flag Salute, General Manager William Vanderwaal mentioned the
passing of Tom Charter and proposed the addition of a moment of silence for reflection and remembrance. It was moved and approved, and we took the time to remember Mr. Charter and the legacy he left in the Sacramento Valley.
The meeting was opened up to public comment and time was taken for introductions of all meeting attendees. With the completion of introductions, I took the time to further introduce myself and explain my role with WaterWrights.net, as this was my first time attending a TCCA meeting and I was likely the only unfamiliar face in the room. Vanderwaal explained that Don Wright and I had stopped by a few months back for introductions and that we are favorable to the water and agriculture industries and opined that we do a good job of reporting what goes on in the meetings. Vanderwaal invited Adam Nickels to introduce himself. Adam is the Active Regional Director for the Bureau of Reclamation (USBR). He mentioned that he usually comes once a year to a TCCA meeting, but this was his first time at the meeting as Acting Regional Director and that he is excited to have the opportunity to share some enthusiasm for water supply and Northern California. He mentioned that he had three colleagues with him, Robert Ward, Jake Berens, and Michael Ryan. 
Monthly Recuring Items
The USBR Report was given by Nickels who addressed staffing challenges, with 329 staff losses in the region since January 17 due to natural attrition and voluntary separations. He mentioned that the focus on safe operation of facilities is of top priority so there has been a temporary shift away from some projects. Because of the challenges of maintaining operations while dealing with reduced staffing he emphasized the need for grace and understanding from stakeholders during this transition period.
Nickels provided updates on water supply projects and the impact of the Presidents Executive Order on water allocation. He discussed the challenges of balancing water allocation for different regions and the potential impact on groundwater usage and mentioned the ongoing negotiations. Nickels opened to any questions from the Board. Colusa Water District Alternate Director Shelley Murphy brought up a Colusa County
annexation project involving Walnut Ranch and Colusa Industrial Properties in which they are waiting on USBR for cultural permitting. The timeline keeps getting pushed off. Nickels mentioned that he is very much aware of the challenge and that he needs to take it on personally to help speed it along. It is more of a challenge because of a lack of cultural staffing.
Vanderwaal mentioned that DWR has some subsidence monitoring stations that they would like to put in. TCCA is concerned with subsidence in a couple of locations on the TC Canal. The concern with DWR is that they are funding it through a grant that has an expiration date where they will lose funding. Vanderwaal thinks that date is in September some time. Nickels addressed the challenges of the cultural review process and the need to expedite certain projects. He mentioned the potential for new National Environment Policy Act (NEPA) regulations to streamline some processes and the importance of addressing
subsidence issues to prevent damage to canal structures. There is an Executive Order that came out and directed agencies to look at all of their rules and policies and to figure out if they are necessary and how they can be made better. USBR is currently in the process of doing that.
Vanderwaal asked if Nickels could elaborate on how the Bureau is approaching Executive Order 14181 that came out to expedite or maximize water. Nickels explained that the general consensus is that the goal of the order is to get more water south of the Delta. It takes a three-step approach, the first step being currently implemented is to take a look at where the Bureau can flex on things. So, what they did was look at their 2024 record of decision and said that it was a voluntary agreement and is a policy call and that they are not going to implement that. Last summer DWR and USBR were able to “off ramp” the fall X2 requirement, which is the curtain between fresh and salt water, basically the spot where the two meet. Science showed that playing with the curtain did not help in supporting Delta Smelt. Since the requirement was not scientifically supported and not codified, they decided to off ramp that policy. This is just an example of an immediate effect of the streamlining process.
As a result of the executive order and based on their forecast there was another 5% allocation increase that will be reflected in Lake Shasta. This is of concern for those in the North State. Vanderwaal explained that crop plans and planting have been completed in the south, so this extra allocation will go into storage for use next year based on forecasts. It is basically an advance for next year before knowing what the water situation will be next year. If we are to have another dry winter like we had in 2021 that would put Shasta and the North Valley including the TCCA in a tough spot.
Murphy mentioned subsidence issues, and if subsidence could be a reason to prioritize annexation projects that would allow the expedition of surface water and lesson the need for ground water usage. Nickels described the dramatic subsidence issues in the Central
Valley as compared to the North State but mentioned that even though subsidence is much less in the North State, we do not want to see that type of subsidence happening here, so it is important to be proactive so there is an opportunity there to expedite projects.
There was discussion of Article 3 water, water rates, and talks about the status of Sites Reservoir. Like all construction projects, the cost of the reservoir continues to increase as time goes by. Conversation was had about the potential ways to speed along the process. A question was asked about the possibility of raising the Shasta Dam.
In wrapping up the monthly recuring items, regular meeting minutes and financial reports were reviewed, considered, and approved.
General Manager’s Report
Operations and Maintenance Chief, Don Babb provided updates of ongoing projects including road grading and erosion repairs. Much of his equipment is currently being used on a project up in Red Bluff and he is waiting to get it back. Water Quality has looked great so far. A treatment is scheduled for next week and regular treatments have made life easier this year as water has been cleaner. Over-night overtime has been very minimal since there have been very few problems with vegetation. The Red Bluff salmon net pen has been removed. The AC units have been repaired at the pumping plant. Currently just under 1,000 CFS is being diverted. Eaton Pumps will be coming up to look at one of the pump shafts.
Vanderwaal reported that Congressman Doug LaMalfa will be in Yuba County June16, and he will be there to meet with him before a planned D.C. trip.
When GCID was doing their flood up for rice it became evident that the canal needs to be run at full capacity for more than 4 hours, which is the longest time it has been run in the past. Because of potential future demand on the canal, higher flows are expected. When Sites Reservoir is built, more water will be moved through. Some of the current structures may not be able to handle the additional capacity. Some of the structures have changed elevation over time with subsidence. Some survey work needs to be done to find these areas so plans can be made to address them.
General Business
The board reviewed various policies and there was a proposal to change the 2/3 required affirmative vote of the entire board to a majority vote. A motion was made, the Board voted, and the motion carried.
Vanderwaal reported that he, Darrin Titus, Dennis and Halbert Charter are the representatives going to DC on the week of the 23rd. The issues that they will be focusing on will be the canal screens, funding of the modernization of the Corning Pumping Plant which was built in the 1950’s, and third is adding two new pumps at the Red Bluff Pumping Plant. In addition to these projects, they will be sharing concerns about understanding the
executive order. There will be two pieces of legislation that they will be looking at including one involving the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act. (WIIN) which gave TCCA some protections but may be revisited. The second will be about the fact that currently, water can’t be transferred from the Orland unit unless there is a drought declaration by the Governor. Ninety percent of years, the Orland Unit has extra water that could be transferred.
A draft of the Strategic Plan was handed out and explained by Vanderwaal. He asked the Board to review the plan before they revisit it in August.
Sites is considering an update of their bylaws. In it they state that the hierarchical order will be the benefits and obligation contract, then the bylaws, and then the Joint Powers Agreement (JPA). Vanderwaal is concerned about this because in the JPA there is a section that says that TCCA, Glenn Colusa Irrigation District (GCID), and Reclamation District 108 have facilities that Sites will be using and that they have priority for their member districts. The concern is that if benefits and obligations contracts and the bylaws have priority, in theory someone could come along and decide sites has priority over the districts. There was a discussion with Sites JPA, and they are drafting the proposed changes to protect the districts. When the documents are ready, they will be reviewed by the Board and by Council.
https://jcast.fresnostate.edu/agonefoundation/index.htm
Sites is also in the process of selecting the Construction Manager at Risk (CMAR). This is the company that will be hired to do the construction. There is a team that is going to review the proposals. Vanderwaal raised some concerns that they will be reviewing and selecting proposals for an entity that will be working on or crossing land of the TCCA. He asked for guidance from the board about how much political cachet to extend in trying to get on that board or finding someone to represent the TCCA. It seemed that the consensus was that Vanderwaal would be a great representative of the North State based on his past experience and that he has the support and encouragement to do what he can to be a part of the discussion. With that, Dennis asked to clear the room for closed session.
Nick Edsall covers Northern California water meetings and their impact on the agricultural community. With over 25 years of farming experience and deep roots in the Sacramento Valley, Nick brings firsthand knowledge of the challenges growers face when it comes to water policy, regulation, and resource management. Edsall is the Sacramento Valley Sales Rep for Duarte Nursery and owner of Edsall Ag Consulting, LLC. A graduate of Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo (Crop Science), he strives to translate complex water issues into clear, relevant reporting for farmers, ranchers, and stakeholders across the region. A graduate of the California Agricultural Leadership Program (Class 53), Nick is committed to bridging the gap between policy and production in California agriculture.
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Tehama Colusa Canal Authority: 5513 Highway 162, Willows, CA 95988 – Telephone 530/934-2125, https://tccanal.com/
Staff: GM – William Vanderwaal, O&M Chief – Don Babb, Administration – Lisa Dicharry.
Board: Chair – Zach Dennis, Vice-Chair – Jim Jones
Members: Colusa CWD, Corning WD, Cortina WD, Dunnigan WD, 4M WD, Glen Colusa ID, Glide WD, Holthouse WD, Kanawha WD, Kirkwood WD, Legrande WD, Orland Artois WD, Proberta WD, Thomes Creek WD & Westside WD
From the TCCA Website: The Tehama-Colusa Canal Authority (TCCA) is a Joint Powers Authority comprised of 17 Central Valley Project water contractors. The service area spans four counties (Tehama, Glenn, Colusa, and Yolo) along the west side of the Sacramento Valley, providing irrigation water to farmers growing a variety of permanent and annual crops. TCCA operates and maintains the 140 mile Tehama-Colusa and Corning canals irrigation water supply system. The service area is approximately 150,000 acres, producing over $250 million in crops per year, and contributing $1 billion to the regional economy annually.
