Modesto City Council Watch

• Approved hiring the Sacramento law firm of Bartkiewicz, Kronick & Shanahan at a cost not to exceed $75,000 to help the city respond to a state proposal to increase how much water flows down the Tuolumne River. The river provides one-third to half of the city’s drinking water. The proposal is part of the state plan to increase what are called the unimpaired flows on the Tuolumne, San Joaquin and Merced rivers, which would mean less water for the region. Critics say this will devastate the region, but advocates say it will help fish and the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. The state is expected to make a decision in July.
• Approved a joint powers agreement forming the West Turlock Subbasin Groundwater Sustainability Agency and to have Modesto serve on the agency’s board. It would have more than a dozen members, including Stanislaus and Merced counties, Turlock and the Turlock Irrigation District. The agency is in response to California’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act. As a board member, Modesto would pay $10,000 annually.

This story was originally published December 8, 2016 at 3:22 PM with the headline "Modesto City Council Watch."