By Don A. Wright
The Tulare Irrigation District held its Tuesday, August 12, 2025 board of directors meeting at its headquarters west of Tulare and on Zoom. Good for them. It’s been hot here in the Valley with temperatures higher than 100 degrees. Despite Greta Tintin Eleonora Ernman Thunberg* getting the vapors the world isn’t burning down just because it gets hot in the San Joaquin Valley during the northern hemisphere’s tilt towards the sun. It does this every year about this time. We don’t call it global warming, we call it summer.
As with many natural and sustainably based processes such as agriculture there is a cycle. This is the time of the year the fruit is ripening, the water supply and delivery season is known, the legislature both federal and state is on recess. It’s a hot and somewhat slower time of year.
The Meeting
Chairman David Bixler called the meeting to order at the scheduled 9:00am start time. He said General Manager Aaron Fukuda had a goal of finishing the meeting by noon, so they’d best get started. There was no public comment and as far as I could tell I was the only member of the public online.
Water Report
Water Master Marco Crenshaw reported Lake Kaweah is at the lowest it has ever been
recorded at this time of year. Lake Millerton is in good shape and there is no change expected from the 100 percent Friant allocation. I think having a good, well managed federal Central Valley Project supply could be one reason the Kaweah supply was drawn down with confidence.
TID shut down just about everything on July 24th Crenshaw said. Water sales by the district were down by about five percent as demand was higher this year. This year’s supply also contributed to better recharge opportunities for area basins.
Fukuda said there is potential for part of the 16,000 a/f Unreleased Restoration Flows in Lake Millerton available for TID to use. He said the US Bureau of Reclamation to recolor the URF water and carry it over for next year. Fukuda pointed out the State Water Project missed up to 500,000 a/f it could have sent to San Luis Reservoir during the atmospheric rivers. He also said the Water Blueprint for the San Joaquin Valley has been doing a great job of getting the word out about these kinds of problems and I agree – it’s one of the best organizations I’ve seen come along in decades.
Director Rick Borges said he has concerns with the funding of Sites Reservoir due to all the legal delays it has had to ride out. Everyone agrees with that.
O&M
Superintendent Wayne Fox said there has been a problem this year with the nomads searching for waterfront living using check boards for their campfires. The crew had to
gather the unused boards and lock them up inside the district yard. The homeless situation in California isn’t just an urban problem. Horsetail Rush is a weed districts in the San Joaquin Valley have to fight, TID’s no exception. Fox – and this is an example of how water and irrigation districts may be the last holdout of functional government in the state – reported a five-gallon tub of the weed is selling at Home Depot for about $15 as an ornamental. There was some talk of TID showing up at your next farmers’ market with some plants for sale. Good for them.
Finances
CFO Kathi Artis gave the board a review of the financial statements, asked the board to pay its bills and led them through the 2023 audited financial statements. A highlight is the district has $13 million in cash. This is because it’s run by farmers.
The longest part of any financial portion of a meeting is the review of the bills. Not every time but I’ve often seen the vibe in the room alter as all the directors submerge into an eagle eyed, line by line look at what was spent. They can stay down for five minutes as the room goes silent. The first to come up for air may say something to effect, “We could have saves $.27 per bearing if we’d bought them at Bob’s Tractor Parts instead of Jim’s Farm Supply.” And why not? These guys are tough and they have to be. You don’t gamble with your finances when farming if you want to survive. They’re already fighting the weather,
pests, market forces and especially government regulations. They’ve learned how to make it stretch. If the folks in Sacramento minded their finances with a tenth of the diligence of a water special district California wouldn’t be $90 billion in the hole.
Also, the board approved all of the wise and lovely Artis’ reports, including the cost of snacks from Donut-liscous. A possibly interesting side note: a law firm from Bakersfield billed TID $666.66 – almost but not quite a scary number.
Fukuda reported Fox has come up with a plan to keep the proper pumps operating as needed should extra water come along. It’ll cost $999,950.00 or so. It’s a suite of sizes to meet immediate needs. Even during dry years there is a spring snowmelt that will provide a lot of water in a hurry. These pumps will be available and can be stored safely at HQ during periods of nonuse. It was suggested they be stored in solar powered shade, help pay down the almost million-dollar pump cost in case the farmers market plan doesn’t completely cover it.
Engineering
The district’s engineering activities report was given by Fukuda, an actual engineer, who updated the board on the Kaweah Siphon project update. The FEMA grant could now include $100,000 in reimbursement for unexpected consultant work. There is also $3.5 million in project funding grants thanks to Congressmen David Valadao and Jim Costa sponsoring a bill. There’s another grant opportunity with an application due in September. The Siphon project is costing more than $15 million. Grants welcome.
Caltrans is making some long-needed changes to the Paige Avenue/Highway 99 intersection. The freeway interaction through the City of Tulare has become underwhelming over the course of time. The district’s main canal flows right through the proposed project.
Fukuda said originally Caltrans worked with the district to get the design in place but then it went dark for a few years. Then Caltrans showed up with a blueprint to move the canal that resembled a roller coaster; the water goes under and over roads, tracks, utility lines. Fukuda said the focus for TID is to hold Caltrans’ feet to the fire to complete this project on time.
SGMA
TID is part of the Mid Kaweah Groundwater Sustainability Agency that includes the Cities of Visalia and Tulare and is located in the Kaweah Subbasin. Fukuda said the annual draft review is being circulated between agencies and will then be released into the wild for general public comment. The well registration program is likely to become mandatory to participate in certain GSA programs. The East Kaweah GSA is going to a strictly voluntary approach.
MKGSA has done a well survey of more than 900 wells. It took staff 18 days driving around and now satellite imagery is being incorporated into the project. The Advisory Committee wants this as soon as possible to address the subsidence situation. Got to know who’s pumping where.
Another issue is the allocation policy for surface applications. There isn’t a clear policy for this and there’s a situation where landowners are asking for recharge credits to be applied to other fields that may not have access to surface supplies – not turnout or easement
available.
Attorneys Alex Peltzer and the unparalleled Valerie Kincaid have prepared an agreement for An Executive Team Services. These are services special districts provide for other agencies. For example, for appropriate compensation TID will be responsible for administrating compensation packages for the GSA. This is a pretty common arrangement between larger and smaller agencies with different resources. Fukuda’s position as manager for both TID and MKGSA is also covered under this agreement. There is process for him to avoid conflict. There are many facets to this agreement and it is a public document if you’d like to look at it. It could be a good template for other agency interactions.
The downgradient recharge flows from Cameron Creek also flow into the MKGSA, this is more than just the City of Visalia where the creek abuts. There is a proposed linear recharge project that will include a three-way split between the members along with a three-way split of the construction and maintenance costs. TID will administer the project. The cost is $2.5 million.
Friant
Next on the agenda was Friant Matters. Most of the WaterWrights.net reports have an addendum down in the fine print. The information provides contacts, a list of players and usually a history and overview the district being reported. Read it and you’ll find out why Friant is important to TID.
Fukuda said he went to Washington DC with Friant last month. He said it is a very different trip when you go with Friant. You meet the actual legislators and not just the staff, although they are very important. They discussed the Executive Orders, the $1 billion investments from the Big Beautiful Bill and the importance of the San Joaquin River Restoration Program and funding needs. This last trip didn’t include an actual director as he missed his flight. But it was still an incredible trip and Director Scott Rogers saying the current Friant Water Authority CEO Jason Phillips has a very good repour with the folks back there.
McKay Point/Seaborn Reservoir
Fukuda reported there doesn’t appear to be a need to rewrite the Environmental Impact
Report under the California Environmental Quality Act addendum. There is an aggregate washing plant at Westcoast Sand & Gravel located nearby. This isn’t going to be as big a deal as once thought. TID will still be complying with all the mitigation measures, and the operations won’t change. Consultant Graham Stephens said this should fly in Sacramento no prob. The board approved the proper language stating this.
Legislation & GM Report
There was no update besides AB 1413 Papan, a bill dealing with groundwater adjudication and the administration of Groundwater Sustainability Plans. This bill if passed will strip GSAs of all manner of abilities to deal effectively and fairly.
Fukuda said now is the time to act to get the feds and the state in line for improving water supply. On August 7th Congressman Costa held a water event and Borges attended.
Action Items
The items that require a vote by the board can be placed in one category. There have been cases, even in this meeting where the board voted. But this is the part where most of the voting will take place. The first vote concerned the above-mentioned pumps. Fox explained traditionally pumps have their own motors and they will sit around for much of the year. There are also a plethora of California Air Resources Control Board regulations and fees that apply annually. Little salt in the wound.
Fox researched the matter, found pumps that don’t have motors and therefore are not subject to CARB and the wasting disease from letting diesel sit around. These pumps run off of a tractor’s PTO, power take off. Haul the pump out to the location and hook it up to a tractor and move some water. Both Fox and Fukuda said these pumps are going to be able to handle volume, enough volume to help prevent flooding. Fukuda said TID spent $300,000 to rent pumps for one month last year and it was a hassle with logistics, fuel and efficiency. Also, there are only so many pumps for rent and during the melt they become popular and often difficult to get.
Next the California Farm Water Coalition came to the table to solicit funds. We (the editorial we, btw) don’t, as a usual policy course, provide information about CFWC financing matters. We don’t want to place this fine organization at a disadvantage. Rogers is a Director of CFWC and Fukuda outlined and praised the work being done by Mike Wade at length. We won’t tell how much but TID is in support.
Another organization is the Water Education Foundation. I don’t worry about hurting their feelings as they occasionally, in my opinion, stray from the golden rule. However, I don’t believe there is ever a better tour given throughout the state’s water infrastructure and habitat. I would love to go on every WEF tour available. TID will make a gift of funds to WEF.
ACWA, another statewide organization TID belongs to, is having an election for president and vice president. Erne Avila and Carol Lee Gonzales-Brady respectively. The Region Seven Board slate has some familiar faces: Johnny Amaral, Tom Barcellos, Byran Glennan, Sheridan Nichols and Trent Taylor are up for the seats. Fukuda said it’s tough to fill these positions so vote these guys in right away. The board authorized Bixler to vote for all of them.
TID has an Employee Incentive Activities Program that is meant to foster engagement and morale. Fukuda said if you can get the employees involved, you’ll have happier employees because they can have a say in things. Things like a Christmas party and such. Employee Teresa Ortiz will be the EIAP Committee chair. Board said – go for it.
Board Report & Closed Session
Finally, the board members gave their reports. Borges reported on the Kaweah St. John River Association, and he is the Chairman of Friant.
Director Dave Martin wasn’t present and I didn’t hear why, so hope he’s ok. Obviously, he didn’t report on the KSGRA or the MKGSA.
Director Mike Thomas represents the Watchumna Water Company and he didn’t have much to report.
Rogers reported the CFWC head honcho Wade is fixing to retire. A successor is being considered. All he could say was they were going to search outside the organization.
With that the meeting went into closed session at 11:27am for what looks like a relatively light load of legal battles, personnel, property and liability issues. Good for them. Go be good to each other and yourselves.
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*I’M NOT TRYING TO be mean towards a former-child whose claim to fame was to be manipulated into making a bunch of pretentious seals bark at the UN water park. I just thought her name was rather long and therefore interesting.
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TULARE IRRIGATION DISTRICT
6826 Ave 240, Tulare, CA 93274 Office: 559/686-3425
Board: David G. Bixler- President, Richard S. Borges, Jr.-Vice President, Scott Rogers, Dave Martin & Michael Thomas
Staff: Aaron Fukuda-General Manager, Kathi Artis–District Controller, Wayne Fox–Superintendent, Marco Crenshaw–District Watermaster & Alex Peltzer-Attorney.
About: The Tulare Irrigation District was organized September 21, 1889. The original proposal for the formation of an irrigation district covering 219,000 acres, extending from the Sierra Nevada foothills to Tulare Lake, was eventually reduced to 32,500 acres. The District continued in this status until January of 1948 when the so-called Kaweah Lands” (approximately 11,000 acres) were annexed. In October of 1948, approximately 31,000 acres, compromising the area served by the Packwood Canal Company were annexed to the District. A U.S. Bureau of Reclamation contract was signed in 1950 providing an annual supply of 30,000 acre-feet of Class 1 water, and up to 141,000 acre-feet of Class 2 water from the Friant-Kern Canal. The District and the Kaweah Delta Water Conservation District have coordinated efforts to enhance the recharge of groundwater within the Kaweah Basin. During high flow times KDWCD may use the recharge basins with the District for recharge purposes. Further, KDWCD has historically provided for a financial incentive program through which the District sustains the level of groundwater recharge from supply sources into the District. This historical program was recently reinstated by both districts in lieu of the District’s plans to concrete-line this canal to conserve the surface water. TID is a member of the Mid Kaweah GSA DWR#-5-022.11
