Irrigation and pumping rules going before MID board

The rocky road to new watering rules taken by the Modesto Irrigation District could come to an end at Tuesday’s board meeting.

Also, the MID board will consider more generous incentives for owners of private wells who are willing to rent them to the district, hopefully boosting this year’s historically stingy allotment of only 16 inches per acre because of the drought.

Last year, the drought reduced normal water shares of 42 inches to 24, prompting the board to try new strategies such as water transfers, paying growers for groundwater supplements and having all customers pay a special drought surcharge. The board in March revived transfer programs, including open-market and fixed-price sales, but postponed until Tuesday finalizing the groundwater proposal.

A similar groundwater program last year attracted only three participants. This season, MID will pay power costs to run pumps and would give owners about 100 acre-feet for every 900 the district pumps.

A few weeks ago, farmers rebelled at proposed revisions to irrigation rules, including losing water rights for denying ditch tenders access to private property at any time and reinstatement subject to high-level approval.

The issue was debated at two previous board meetings and four grower meetings. New language would allow the district to cut off a farmer who “unreasonably” denies property access, and reinstatement would be “coordinated with the ditchtender,” not the board or administration.

Other rules are intended to prevent backwash, especially from sewage lagoons, into MID canals.

Another drought-prompted strategy last year led to stiff fines, termination of water rights and public shaming of suspected water thieves, some of whom later were exonerated. A proposed revision would retain the $1,500 penalty for a first offense, but termination could occur only upon a second offense, and online shaming would follow a board vote upholding a fine. The mention of being “subject to criminal prosecution” was removed from new language.

The board last month raised water prices and expects to collect $3.16 million this year, or less than 17 percent of the district’s cost to deliver water; the rest is covered by 113,000 electricity customers.

Last year, MID levied an $11.91-per-acre drought surcharge on water customers to pay power costs for extra groundwater pumping and for extra canal patrols. The surcharge raised $853,000, but that fell far short of the $1.15 million added expense.

This year, instead of imposing a surcharge off the bat, the district will see how much extra it spends on drought activities and divide that amount by customers’ acreage. In other words, the surcharge will be calculated and billed after the season.

If MID spends the same amount as last year, the surcharge would come to about $16 per acre this year. It would be subject to state law governing tax increases, meaning customers could object during a 45-day period or at a public hearing where the board would decide whether to impose the surcharge.

Tuesday’s board meeting begins at 9 a.m. at 1231 11th St., Modesto. For more information, go to bit.ly/1xYAq2n.

This story was originally published April 6, 2015 at 2:44 PM with the headline "Irrigation and pumping rules going before MID board."