S.J. water district sets timeline for proposed groundwater project

To seek public input and establish a timeline for a proposed groundwater replenishment project in the Mokelumne River’s south system, the North San Joaquin Water Conservation District’s Board of Directors held a public meeting on Thursday morning in the Lodi Police Department’s Community Room.

NSJWCD President Joe Valente explained that the purpose of the meeting was to hear questions and concerns from landowners whose properties had been assessed to help fund the $18 million project, clarifying that they are not beginning construction yet. He added that he would be willing to meet with landowners or other curious residents outside of the meeting at their request.

“We’re just moving forward with the concept, not the whole project. I am more than open to taking people on tours of the proposed pipeline,” Valente said.

The proposed project aims to bring surface water from the Mokelumne River to agricultural lands south of the river for growers to use instead of groundwater by replacing the district’s pump station, improving or replacing 7 miles of cement pipeline running from the river south of Pixley Slough and making improvements to allow surface water to flow down Bear Creek and Pixley Slough within the district.

To move the water from the Mokelumne River to agricultural lands, the district is still considering whether to install PVC pipes inside the existing pipeline, next to the pipeline or replace the existing pipes completely. This would provide between 10,000 and 12,000 acre-feet of surface water to the project area, which covers approximately 20,000 acres of land south of the river, allowing the groundwater basin to recover during normal to wet years to be used during drier years.

Although NSJWCD has already secured $4 million in state and federal grants and $1.75 million in settlements to fund the project, it still require another $13 million to $14 million before construction can begin. To raise the remaining funds, the district hired Provost & Pritchard Consulting Group to conduct annual acreage assessments on lands that would benefit from the project.

In its draft report, Provost & Pritchard concluded that lands along the pipeline would pay between $75 and $85 per acre annually, while lands on channels fed by the pipeline would pay between $55 and $65 per acre annually. Lands that only use groundwater would pay between $10 and $40 per acre annually, depending on their location, but all assessed landowners would get to vote on the assessment. Should they decide not to approve the assessment, the district would be unable to build the project and lose $4 million in grants.

“We don’t just have a $4 million check to spend, we would have to send an invoice for reimbursement,” Valente said.

The grant funds must be spent by spring of 2019, and are only allowed to build the pump station during the months of August and September due to water levels, according to NSJWCD General Counsel Jennifer Spaletta, who said that the district hopes to begin construction in 2018.

“Every month we don’t build the project, the

cost goes up,” Spaletta said.

After hearing concerns from landowners regarding whether those with smaller land parcels would have to pay for the project and be able to benefit from it, the board voted 5-0 to include any unirrigated parcel above 5 acres with an initial assessment of $0, with an option for reassessment should the owners decide to irrigate in the future. Any parcel under 5 acres will be excluded from assessment, regardless of whether they are irrigated.

The board also voted 4-1 to approve the final assessment reports by no later than Jan. 8 and send out final notices and ballots by Jan. 12 of the same year before holding a final hearing at the end of February. NSJWCD Vice President and Treasurer Tom Flinn cast the only dissenting vote, saying that he felt the board needs more time to collect and consider community input on the project before deciding on a timeline. Inspired by his concerns, the board announced plans to hold another special meeting sometime between its next regularly scheduled meeting on Dec. 18 and Jan. 8.

The board also voted to approve $1,500 to be used as a deposit on a post office box, as well as another $7,750 to hire an independent ballot counter. It also approved $2,500 for Provost & Pritchard to revisit its open channel calculations, as some landowners felt that the initial assessment was too high.

The next NSJWCD Board of Directors meeting will be held at 2 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 18 in the Lodi Public Library’s Community Room, located at 201 W. Locust St., Lodi.