County conservation board seeks public input on groundwater program

To help fund a project to bring water from the Mokelumne River to replenish groundwater supplies on lands south of the river, the North San Joaquin County Water Conservation District Board is seeking public input on how to proceed with the project, according to board president Joe Valente.

“Right now, we’ve just started the process of asking property owners if they’re interested. We think it’s a good idea, and we want to put it out to the public to see if they think it’s a good idea, get feedback and go from there,” Valente said.

The proposed project involves replacing the district’s pump station on the river and improving seven miles of existing pipeline running south from the river to Pixley Slough to allow surface water to flow down Bear Creek and Pixley Slough, recharging groundwater in those areas. This would provide 10,000 to 12,000 acre-feet of pressurized surface water that farmers with sprinklers could use for their crops, instead of relying on groundwater, according to Valente.

The district has already secured $5.75 million from grants and other outside sources to fund the $18 million project, and plans to propose an annual assessment of lands that will benefit from the project, such as commercial agricultural properties, parks and golf courses. With approximately $14 million still needed to fund the project, Valente understands that property owners may have concerns regarding where that money will come from.

“I think everyone is concerned with the cost, and who’s going to share that cost, but the benefit is that we can use surface water instead of well water. We have a right to that water, so if we don’t use it, we’re going to lose it,” Valente said.

Under the 2014 Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, the district has until 2025 to show that they are using the water right, and must use all of that right by 2040 or risk having the State of California reducing or terminating that right.

A special meeting to discuss the project will be held at 10 a.m. on Thursday in the Lodi Police Department’s community room, located at 215 W. Elm St., Lodi., and a regular board meeting will take place at 2 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 18 in the Lodi Library’s community room, located at 201 W. Locust St., Lodi. Landowners are encouraged to attend both meetings, and to vote on the project during a hearing and ballot proceeding that will occur no earlier than January 2018 and no later than February 2018, according to Valente.