By Don A. Wright
The Westlands Water District held its board of directors meeting on Tuesday, September 15, 2026 at its Fresno headquarters and online with Zoom and by telephone. Board meeting day for staff and the lucky committee members usually begins a little after 8:00am with a meeting of the Finance & Administration Committee. This committee meeting was cancelled today. I don’t know why. Perhaps they’ll tell us. Sometimes a quorum can’t be raised and it would be fruitless to continue. Sometimes there’s nothing to talk about.
The Meeting
The meeting began a little late with Chairman Larry Fortune calling it to order at 9:07am and as should be done with any public meeting in California we all saluted the flag. Director Frank Coelho led the salute. The consent calendar was next and routine matters were voted on in aggregate but for one item pulled. The board agreed.
General Manager’s Report
GM Allison Febbo called it in from, I think she lives in Sacramento, because she’s not feeling well and didn’t want to spread things. She began with a strong statement about the State Water Resources Control Board’s release of the Healthy Rivers & Landscapes plan, also known as the Voluntary Agreements. After years of negotiations the HRL (pronounced hurl) is scheduled to be adopted by the State Board next month. However, no one on the receiving end is happy with it. Febbo said the plan falls very short of the solution producing goals outlined previously. She said, “The State Board walked away and changed the game.”
One of the most common opinions spoken throughout the Valley is the State Board’s staff is biased and not being provided leadership by the board itself. Whether true or not the appearance of staff imposing its will over the procedure is front facing.
Director Jeff Anderson said Westlands has spent millions of dollars and lost hundreds of thousands of acre feet of water in trying to align with HRL. He hopes that can be presented between now and the State Board’s adoption date. He also hopes to form a coalition of allies willing to call the State Board on its about face.
Water Report
Kitty Campbell gave the water report saying, wait it was Alan Rosenthal instead. Rosenthal said about 120,000 a/f is the cap for rescheduling water at San Luis Reservoir. If the El Nino comes in heavy that water has to move so it isn’t lost to spill. There is about 80,000 a/f in supplemental water this year. Precipitation in the north state and Central Sierra is just a bit below normal, but in pretty good shape. The reservoirs across the state are all in good shape for this time of year. Remember we had a major melt very early in the spring so reservoir operations have been well managed.
Anderson asked if the USBR holds anyone accountable for poor forecasting. Febbo said it depends on which administration is in office. Rosenthal said San Luis Reservoir storage is about the 15-year average with about 1.7 million a/f. More than half a million a/f of that is federal storage.
Rosenthal showed the board how much water was lost to foregone pumping costs. It was difficult for me to derive that amount from the graph but it was clear the Action Five Executive order added more than another 10-percent South of Delta allocations.
The Science
Febbo gave Brad Cavallo’s report as he is involved in something work related somewhere. Febbo said temperature management at Shasta is going better and they need a drone with a larger payload for studying predation on the Sacramento River. Unfortunately the payload amount was in metric and well, you can imagine the confusion it caused me.
Gov’t Mischief
Febbo reported the feds have adjourned both Houses of Congress until after the election. The state is waiting to see what Governor Gavin Newsom will sign or veto.
Communication
Febbo said Westlands’ statement about HRL got some media traction. She also spoke at the recent Urban Water Conference and said that organization has been working to build bridges with the Valley as their water situation runs in parallel.
Congressman Vince Fong went on a tour of Westlands and that worked out well. Westlands is also looking for a seriously qualified communications specialist to replace the irreplaceable Elizabeth Jonnason.
O&M
Kelly Vandergon reported on matters saying a deep ripper hit a buried power line and another contractor drilled into a pipe. Both areas were properly marked under 811. Someone moved the field flags on the drilled pipe.
Vandergon said the shop and field office at Five Points serves as a central hub for the O&M function. The campus was built in the 1980s and both space and updated plumbing/energy needs are mounting. The plan is to update and refurbish the offices as well as additional footage. He was asked about the cost and it’s estimated to run about $1 million.
Anderson asked if the new space would be large enough to hold a meeting. Vandergon said they could hold a larger meeting in the shop. That would be both hot and cold depending on the weather and Anderson recommended putting a partition in the existing boardroom and use it as needed.
Vandergon said Westlands’ golden mussel treatment has been going well. They are using a copper sulfate and found a 100 percent mortality on two laterals. He said the shells of the dead boogers are flocculating into district reservoirs. It is expected treatment will be more effective in the summer as the copper remains more soluble in the water at the higher temperature. Someone let me know if that’s correct. Westlands is working with California Fish & Wildlife on this matter.
In addition to killing off the mollusks algae and other aquatic weeds have been reduced without any apparent harm to fish thus far. Golden mussels sexually mature in two months and spit out half a million veligers with a 50-percent mortality rate. Do the math and you’ll see why this is an incredibly important matter for a district like Westlands that uses pipes. They could clog pretty fast. Vandergon said flow rates of two and half feet per second is considered swift enough to prevent the mussels from attaching to infrastructure and that is included in the monitoring and control plan being conducted by Dudek Engineering and Clear Channel Vegetation Management. CSU-WATER is developing a study to determine the percentages of golden mussels that pass by Westlands through the canals and how many are entering the district.
I asked Vandergon if the mussels can suck the calcium out of the concrete and if I understood correctly, no they can’t. However, the attachment to the concrete does cause wear and while there is a study out of China (the country that also gave us Covid and now golden mussels) there is more research to be done. Vandergon mentioned a plethora of agencies looking into this matter and that just goes to underline the potential negative impacts that could happen.
Strategic Plan
Steve Farmer reported staff is looking at adding an additional strategy to the strategic plan to capture more savings from energy development and management. Febbo added there will be more outreach with growers and a fuller report will be ready for the board next month. There was also a good deal of talk about power and energy.
Outside Agencies
Russ Freeman reported the San Luis Delta Mendota Water Authority will meet this Thursday in Los Banos. COO Pablo Arayave is leaving and everyone expects him to receive the Golden Bucket Award. They will also be review the Delta Mendota Canal subsidence correction progress. The final cost estimate may be ready by the next meeting.
Freeman said ACWA is still working on its vision for California’s water future. There will be a tour of subsidence on the DMC and other sights along the westside. It’s becoming a popular destination. Under SB 72 the state has to develop nine million more a/f of water and Westlands will be a part of this planning. Coelho asked if SLDM has stood with Westlands on the HRL comments and they are working on a letter together.
The Water Blueprint for the San Joaquin Valley will hold a meeting tomorrow concerning the Unified Water Plan that Freeman will be attending. (I just read that meeting will be cancelled.)
Valley Clean Infrastructure Plan
Jose Gutierrez reported the Cluster Study Plan is being reviewed to see how the huge solar farm will fit on the grid. Freeman said option agreements have come in and more are following. Landowners are being contacted to discuss easements for transmission.
Gutierrez also reported more community group meetings on the westside to discuss the Community Benefits Plan. These meetings were ran by a facilitator and Westlands didn’t attend so folks could speak a little more freely. Febbo said this plan is at the very beginning stage of development. Westlands has met with community leaders and will continue to do so.
Jon Reiter spoke from the audience saying there is a meeting with stakeholders regarding the solar farm scheduled for next month at the WWD offices in Fresno.
Finance & Administration
Next Sherman Dix spoke on the F&I report saying there is an update on investments being developed. The board approved the current investment and financial reports.
Dix gave the quarterly update report on district consultants. No action was needed and there were no questions.
Dix continued saying the board needs to consider approval of the final engineering report for the proposed special benefit assessments. This is Resolution No. 118-26 and if passed will be covered under Prop 218, if I understood correctly. This isn’t going to be a cost increase, rather a moving funds from one pot to the other. There was talk about covering the golden mussel treatment that might require an additional 218. There are 64 laterals at $70,000 per treatment or $4.5 million. Vandergon said he doesn’t expect to have to treat every lateral every year.
Westlands is working with Fresno State University to study how many mussels go to Westlands from the DMC and how many pass on downstream. Febbo said the district is working with both state and federal grant sources. Vandergon said they have been able to apply for grants from the federal Department of War to treat laterals running to Lemoore Naval Air Station. Febbo suggested directing staff to report next month on the golden mussel treatment and costs as well as funding. The board approved the engineering report.
The board was then requested to approve the annual comprehensive financial report and the financial statements, designation of fiscal year 2025-26 unrestricted net position to the rate stabilization fund and adopting a conflict of interest code effective October 3rd, 2026. The board approved it all and it should be noted the district’s rather lengthy and detailed audit was shiny clean. I would also like to note there is no legal requirement for a verbal audit report.
SGMA
The board then heard from Antonio Solorio about the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act. He said the monitoring elevation wells have been increased and groundwater levels within two miles of the Delta Mendota Canal report are being compiled and will be available at next month’s meeting. Gutierrez said there is indication the area northwest of the Naval Air Station is a promising area for recharge due to water quality.
Commending Alwin Acuna
Westlands farmer Alwin Acuna was the subject of Resolution 119-26 commending him. Acuna is also a Westlands employee of 16-years and will be sorely missed. Steve Farmer said Acuna wasn’t able to attend today. Gutierrez said the job description for Acuna was stretched to the limit. He fought fires along the canal bank at the old headquarters and captured foxes from the attic and a plethora of other above and beyond duties all with a cheerful countenance. The board honored him with a resolution and mourned the fact Acuna wasn’t present so they could try to convince him to stay.
Public Comment & Closed Session
Under public comment I asked if anyone has heard of a state agency that monitors the dumping of ballast in California ports. Who’s watching out for the next golden mussel? In as state as regulated as California you’d think there’d be an agency monitoring ballast dumps. The meeting adjourned and went into closed session at 11:22am to discuss an evaluation of the General Manager’s job performance (I bet she gets a good score) and a trash can full of lawsuits. So, that was that for Westlands. Go be good to yourselves and others.
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Westlands Water District
286 W. Cromwell Ave, Fresno, CA 93711 Phone:559/224-1523
Board: Jeff Fortune -President, Jim Anderson – Vice President, Frank Coelho Jr., William Bourdeau, Ryan Ferguson, Ross Franson, Jeremy Hughes, Ernie Costamagna & Justin Diener.
Staff: Allison Febbo-General Manager, Jose Gutierrez-Lt. General Manger, Russ Freeman-Deputy GM Resources, Kitty Campbell-Supervisor of Resources, Steve Farmer-VP of Finance & Admin Affairs, Elizabeth Esposito-In House Counsel, Kelly Vandergon-Director of O&M, and Jim Carter-IT Guru.
About: Without irrigation, farming in the Westlands area of California would be limited and ineffectual. The history of Westlands is one of continual adaptation, careful water stewardship and advanced technology. By maintaining a fierce commitment to sustainability, the Westlands’ comprehensive water supply system continues to adapt, educate, and surpass conservation goals. Throughout its history, Westlands Water District has demonstrated a lasting dedication to water conservation and recognized that the long-term survival of its farms depends on the effective management of California’s precious water resources. From www.wwd.ca.gov
SGMA: Westland WD is in the Westside Subbasin and the Westlands WD GSA. DWR #5-022.09
