Update: $23.6M approved for Crows Landing business park water facility
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Supervisors approve $23.6M water work to enable The Landing's 14,000-job plan.
- Board awards bid for wells, main, tank and treatment at site.
- County commits $42.6M plus $300K annual upkeep, prompts questions on private buy-in.
Stanislaus County supervisors approved a $23.6 million contract to build water improvements for the Crows Landing business park, a county-sponsored venture with a vision of creating 14,000 jobs.
The 1,528-acre business park at a former Navy airfield is proposed for light industry, warehouses and businesses supporting a public airport, which is part of the blueprint. The development project, called The Landing, is about a mile from Interstate 5 and would be developed in three phases over 40 years.
The county has allocated $42.6 million toward the job-creation effort from a combination of general fund reserves, American Rescue Plan Act funds, the county economic development bank and other sources. So far, $14.8 million has been spent on planning, environmental studies, infrastructure design and engineering, staff support and consulting services.
Supervisors approved the contract for Mozingo Construction Inc. of Oakdale to make improvements to two well sites in the Crows Landing community and install a water main along Fink Road to the business park site. The water improvements also will include a 1.6 million-gallon storage tank, pumping and treatment facilities at the business park.
Mozingo’s bid of $23.6 million was a third of another contractor’s bid. The total cost is $28.5 million when construction management is added.
Supervisor Terry Withrow said he’s getting nervous about the industrial park project, which has been in the planning stages during his 15 years on the board. The county has invested around $15 million in the project without seeing a return, he said.
“If it’s a viable venture, the private sector will step up and get involved with it,” Withrow said. “I don’t understand why no one has stepped up in the private sector saying they want to get involved.”
Withrow, who joined in the 5-0 vote approving the water improvement contract, suggested he was supporting the project one last time. The county is taking on $300,000 in annual operations and maintenance costs for the water facilities, staff said.
Supervisor Channce Condit, who represents the area, said he hopes fellow board members keep an open mind about his idea for a casino at the former airfield that would support a hospital facility.
Supervisors did not discuss potential groundwater impacts. The water improvements are expected to meet the needs of the first two phases of business park development. Later stages of development likely will require additional water, possibly through agreements with other West Side agencies.
A year ago, county leaders gave careful consideration to a groundwater pumping reduction plan for the northern part of the Delta-Mendota subbasin in the hope that state regulators would not intervene and impose pumping restrictions in the overdrafted basin. Crows Landing, Patterson and water districts serving farmers are within the subbasin boundaries traversing parts of Stanislaus, Merced, Madera and Fresno counties.
The city of Patterson declared a water emergency in April, resulting in denial of a 719-home Keystone Corp. subdivision. The city expects housing developers to pay for a groundwater recharge facility before housing development may continue.
Evette Davis, a spokeswoman for Keystone, said Monday the company supports the Crows Landing business park as a crucial economic catalyst for the region. But she doubted the veracity of Patterson’s water emergency declaration if the county thinks nothing of installing water improvements at the Crows Landing business park.
“There is nothing to explain why the county can undertake this large well and pumping project while the city of Patterson, in the same groundwater basin, has declared a bogus groundwater emergency,” Davis said via email. “If the county believes there is enough water for Crows Landing, there is enough for Patterson to proceed with Keystone Ranch.”
Withrow said Monday he didn’t believe the initial water improvements raise groundwater sustainability concerns. “There is a need to make sure everything is sustainable out there,” he said. “The question will not be this part of the development, but future development. As the first phases are completed, we will have to look at all possibilities for future phases.”
A mitigation measure in the environmental studies for the Crows Landing business park calls for groundwater monitoring and coordination with the Delta-Mendota groundwater sustainability agency.
This story was originally published October 13, 2025 at 5:33 PM.
