By Don A. Wright
The Tulare Irrigation District held its Tuesday; November 12, 2024 board of directors meeting at its headquarters west of Tulare. It was on Zoom, so that helped. It was also held in person. If you have an opportunity to visit an in person TID meeting you should do so. I’ve been kicking back in my pajamas for a while now and hanging out online. TID
offers good breakfast burritos and they are one of the more friendly, less pretentious bunch you’re liable to run into at a government gathering. That’s not butt kissing, it’s just a fact. The first 10 years I covered water meetings I was working for someone and reporters don’t usually receive warm welcomes – for obvious reasons. But one day the former TID General Manager, Paul Hendrix, turned around and said hi. He asked me how I was doing. That was the first act of warmth I remember receiving at a meeting.
In another act of TID kindness General Manager Aaron Fukuda shared with us an incredible photo he took yesterday. He said he was able to get his drone up and flying and safely back in his hands before the big one hit. That is an actual photo of Tulare County weather from Monday, November 11th. From all of us at WaterWrights.net, a big thank you Aaron for letting us use this outstanding photo.
The Meeting
Things kicked off with President David Bixler calling the meeting at 9:03am. The first item was public comment and Fukuda said Tulare ID recently lost one of the good guys, Gene Bessinger. He was the retired TID Superintendent for more than 30 years. Fukuda said Bessinger was kind to him and the district itself benefited greatly from his service. They held a moment of silence in honor of Mr. Bessinger.
The minutes were approved
Water Report
Water Master Marco Crenshaw said everyone appreciates the new electric vehicle. He also said Lake Kaweah is down 16,000 a/f from last month. There is still a pretty good supply of water in Millerton Lake on the San Joaquin River. This is where TID gets its Friant supplies. Millerton Lake holds about 550,000 a/f and it has between 400,000 and 500,000 a/f if I read the chart correctly.
TID has a deal with the City of Visalia to send them extra Class II water. Now, this is a real case of “if I understand correctly.” Due to a few very wet years the balance went to the City in a big way. The estimate is TID can do nothing and won’t have to send any CVP Class II water to Visalia until 2037.
Overall, storage in the Central Valley Project is running at about normal for this time of year. The US Bureau of Reclamation’s next meeting is in December. There are some projected atmospheric rivers out in the Pacific. The amount of rainfall from yesterday’s storm was greater than expected, but not a large amount. The government forecasters are stepping up with a bold it might be wet or normal or a dry projected 2025 water year.
The Fall 2024 depth to groundwater map has been released. It ranges from 85 feet to about 235 feet. Fukuda said there is the ability to move surface water around to the deep spots and start evening out the depth and avoid subsidence. The City of Tulare is pumping to the point of noticeable cones of depression. There is a new reservoir for the community of Okieville. (I bet there are not as many Okies there as when it was originally named.) Just south of the Okieville Reservoir is a low spot where the City is pumping. You’d think it’d mess up Okieville but it doesn’t for some reason. The final note is compared to the Spring 2024 depth to groundwater map there was only a two foot average drop.
TID has aggressively been combating overdraft and that tells us the Kaweah Subbasin Groundwater Sustainability Plan is working. Hopefully the State Board and its staff will see this. Now that the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act implementation is two years old, the district has two years of data to help guide the process.
Fukuda said before there were deep wells that punched through the Corcoran Clay layer the confined aquifer had a higher head pressure than the upper aquifer. When wells were drilled to depths below the Corcoran Clay layer they were high producers because of this head pressure. Over the years the pressure has dropped and that is one of the big causes of subsidence. Maybe the only cause, I don’t know.
Closed Session
The meeting then went into closed session at 9:40 to talk with attorney Alan Doud. I don’t know what that’s about. Doud is a kick butt attorney but so is TID’s regular counsel Alex Peltzer. The closed session items included existing litigation with suits involving the City of Fresno v. the US Court of Claims, Friant Water Supply Protection Association v. Del Puerto Water District and two cases of anticipated litigation. There are also some liability claims and personnel/employee matters listed on the agenda.
So, that wrapped up the first part of the meeting’s open session. Admittedly we’re going to miss out on some of the action like: updates and reports from the GM, the board members, Superintendent Wayne Fox, TID financial news from Controller Kathi Artis and the latest from the Mid Kaweah Groundwater Sustainability Agency. But the only two action items listed are a TID Service Award and a Future Farmers of America sponsorship. So, instead of waiting around online, or had I gone to the meeting personally, sitting out in the trunk until they reconvened in open session – we’re calling this one as is. Go be good to each other and yourselves.
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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
