Board members of the Tuscan Water District hosted a public workshop on Wednesday. The workshop covered the district’s structure and how it fits with other entities charged with managing the region’s water supply.
Board members took questions and comments from about a dozen attendees, many of them multi-generational farmers.
The district covers a large area of land in western Butte County and has been somewhat contentious. The district was created in February following a vote of landowners situated within its 100,000 acre boundary.
Some smaller landowners are concerned the district will allow large farms to have more decision making power and are concerned that their interests won’t be fairly represented. Environmental groups also worry that a few large agricultural concerns will be able to use greater voting power to draw too much water from the area’s aquifers.
The board spoke to those concerns at the meeting. They said that protecting groundwater is essential for both large and small farms. They also pointed to water conservation measures being taken.
Tovey Giezentanner is General Manager of the Tuscan Water District and led the public workshop.
“Groundwater matters. It matters to all of us, including the farmers,” Giezentanner said. “You know, we had about 15 - 20 folks today. So I was happy about that. I wish we had more.”
The workshop provided general information on the history and reasons for the Tuscan district’s formation. It also addressed how it will work, where it fits in the larger regional water management scheme, and acknowledged concerns. One concern Giezentanner addressed at the workshop was the interests of large landowners versus smaller landowners in the district.
“I don't see maybe as much of a difference between larger and smaller landowners, because all of these farmers also have domestic wells and residences,” Giezentanner said. “If solving the issue and protecting, creating sustainability here … I think it will benefit the domestic well users.”
A vote among affected landowners to fund the district is currently underway, with a proposed rate of $6.46 per acre. All ballots must be submitted by Jan. 15.
