The Triangle T Water District held its Thursday, December 9, 2021 meeting by Zoom. I know I’ve written this many times but farmers are like ducks, they love the rain as long as there isn’t too much at the wrong time. It’s raining in Clovis as I write this and there is more forecasted. That undoubtedly is part of the reason everyone was in such a good mood before the meeting started. Speaking of, the meeting was scheduled to start at 10:00am and for some reason there was bit of a bump on getting a quorum online. But it didn’t take long for General Manager Sarah Woolf to get things straightened out and Chairman Lucas Avila called the Triangle T Groundwater Sustainability Agency meeting to order at 10:06am.
The GSA Meeting
There were no public comments and the board approved the emergency order to continue meeting remotely. That passed no problem. And God bless them they said they’d like to continue providing the Zoom option for the public even after they begin meeting in person. At more than $4 per gallon for gas that is good news. The minutes were approved.
Subbasin Report
Brad Samuelson reported there are some more grant opportunities coming up. In cooperation with Madera County and Chowchilla Water District they will be evaluating projects to submit. The Chowchilla Subbasin will receive more than $7 million and gets to
choose its own projects. Samuelson said the Department of Water Resources wrote former Chowchilla WD GM, now consultant Doug Welch a letter of deficiency about the Groundwater Sustainability Plan to initiate consultation. It wasn’t a rejection of the plan but it needs to be improved. There is a six month deadline. Chris Montoya, DWR said there are three outcomes in order of acceptance to the GSP: approved, inadequate or incomplete. If the GSP problems can’t be reconciled with DWR the matter goes to the State Water Resources Control Board and that would not be a good thing for many reasons.
Madera County has completed its rate study for a 218 election that include interest in the Sites Reservoir, land repurposing and assessment fees. By 2026-27 it will be $200 per acre. If the 218 election passes the Madera County GSA assessments will begin in July, 2022 if I understood.
Circling back like they like to say in Washington DC, there will be meetings with the Triangle T GSA, the Chowchilla GSA and the Madera County GSA to address the GSP improvements for another shot at DWR passage.
With that the GSA portion of the meeting in open session ended. The closed session started at 10:22am for one case of significant exposure to litigation. The public was asked to hangout and if everything goes well the board will return from the Zoom breakout room and the regular TTWD meeting will continue. *
Filler During Closed Session
During the lull we were treated with a photo of Kristi Robinson and her dog Spot. Actually I don’t know her dog’s name but he looks a little like my old dog Boudreaux. I’ve had some great dogs and cats. While at the moment I’m pet-less I still have dreams of
“Buddy” and Sydney and Lucy and Oliver the cat. Boudreaux was a mix of maybe lab and pit bull and could tell if someone was about to have a seizure and was a great defender of women and cats. A very loyal and patient dog, calm yet he could be intimidating if need be.
Sydney was a Border Collie and that’s a smart breed. I would have had to hide my car keys if she had opposable thumbs. She and Lucy liked to sit in my chair. If Lucy was there Sydney would go bark at the door and Lucy would run over to see what was going on. Sydney would then go get back in the chair while Lucy stayed at the door barking. I always wondered why Lucy never caught on. One evening Sydney went to the door barking and of course Lucy joined her. They just wouldn’t stop so I got up and went to see what was going on. There wasn’t anything there but when I came back Sydney was in my chair.
Lucy was an Australian Shepherd and I’m not making this up, she could climb trees. She could also sing but not very well, at least by my standards, which aren’t that high for singing dogs. But she’d jump up on the back of the couch and walk along it until she sort of draped herself around my neck kind of like stole. And she’d start yammering away. It was somewhere between barking and whining and she’d go on for five minutes at a time.
Oliver was a bit of a fraidy cat. I once saw a mouse startle him. He was laying in sunbeam
in the mud room when a mouse ran by. He jumped up and ran into the kitchen. As he got older he became more and more affectionate. He might have been a fraidy cat but he survived coyotes, owls and strange dogs when Boudreaux wasn’t around. They all lived about 16 years each. I sure do miss them.
The Meeting
The regular board meeting took up again at 10:53am with no reportable action from closed session. They had to reapprove the emergency remote and the regular minutes.
Co-GM Chase Hurley gave the financial report. They had to payout $16,000 or so last month and they still have $2.1 million in the checking. The budget is tracking well for 2021 and the board approved the reports.
Next Hurley presented the 2022 budget draft and it will increase from this year’s by more than $400,000 and there will be some mitigation income and hopefully water sales if I understood. Expenses are going to be OK as there is some money in reserve that could go to public outreach. There is also money in the capital reserve and instead of collecting further amounts it was decided the landowners would prefer to keep those funds in their own account. Good for them. Seriously, how many government agencies like the idea of citizens keeping their own money? Not enough that’s for sure.
Assessments are proposed at $127 per acre ($.63 cheaper than this year) and Hurley and Woolf recommend retaining that figure for the 2022 year. Hurley said a new budget for the new year would be a good start. He said if the new year is dry and the water purchase fund starts getting too high because there’s no water to spend them on the board can return the money to the landowners. The board approved the proposed 2022 budget just in time for 2022.
Water Report
Hurley said there is nothing new from this year to report. Hurley said the Central California Irrigation District and TTWD have drafted an agreement to wheel transfer water and it’s subject to the subsidence agreement. He said it is early but he wants everything ready to go so there is no backlog when the time comes. Director Molly Thurman moved to accept with the provision should there be a change in the subsidence agreement, such as an update that be included. Everyone thought that was a good idea and the board approved.
Hurley said he and Directors Avila and I believe Dirk Vlot met with CCID GM Jarrett Martin and San Luis Canal Company GM John Wiersma about mitigation agreements. Most of this is going to be in closed session as it is still being negotiated.
Woolf reported the siphon pipeline easement is moving ahead in good shape. Nothing new on the annexation update. Those gears are grinding at the pace of government speed. One other big questions as I understand it is TTWD’s ability to take water from the Eastside Bypass. The State Board wants TTWD to conduct a thorough investigation of San Joaquin River water rights – a ridiculous request in my opinion and I’m not the only one to hold that opinion. Attorney Jeanne Zolezzi is up to speed on this matter. Also, perhaps a fish screen at each turnout is going to be necessary for the State Board to signoff an OK for diversions on the bypass.
Woolf also said Mike Wade of the California Farm Water Coalition has produced a flyer for outreach in the heavily subsidence impacted Red Top area.
Thurman asked if there is any guidance on the fish screen from the state. Zolezzi said the
State Board says the fish screen isn’t the big issue, no one has permission to divert water. Will the State Board forbid diversions from the bypass? Maybe. It’s ironic that this water is going to mitigated subsidence but the State Board only wants water diverted for flood control. Woolf said in the past Reggie Hill of the San Joaquin Levee Flood Control District would be the contact person to work with on diversions. Hurley said on a side note Hill is planning on retiring this coming summer and that will be a major loss of institutional knowledge and I can vouch Hill is a good guy to work with. He has been generous in sharing information with me.
The board then went into closed session at 11:30am for one more case of significant exposure to litigation. And that was that. Go be good to each other.
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* I wasn’t paying the closest of attention and at first thought the entire meeting was going into closed session. I got all excited thinking “How am I going to cram all the ads in these few paragraphs?” While we’re on the subject – all the WaterWrights.net advertisers are good looking and of above average intelligence. You should click on the link and tell them you saw their ad in WaterWrights.net. I’d do it for you.
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Triangle T Water District – http://triangletwaterdistrict.org/
4400 Hays Drive, Chowchilla, CA 93610 There is no staff, email address or phone number listed on the website.
Staff: Sarah Woolf and Chase Hurley
Board – Lucas Avila – President, Dirk Vlot – Vice President, Emmanuel Benjamin, Michael York & Molly Thurman
The Triangle T Water District GSA is in the Chowchilla Sub Basin DWR # 5-022.05
