COLUSA, CA (MPG) – In a stunning turn of events, landowners in the Colusa Subbasin rejected a proposed groundwater assessment that would have significantly increased the Colusa Groundwater Authority’s budget and reshaped how fees would be collected.
The proposed tax increase, based on specific land use designations, failed with 64% in opposition to only 36% in favor.
Under Proposition 218, each dollar of assessed property value equaled one vote, meaning the landowners with the most acreage – and therefore the greatest financial stake – carried the most influence in determining whether the proposed fees were approved.
Of approximately 6,700 ballots mailed, 1,604 were returned, but the weighted tally showed $366,715.44 in assessed value in favor to $650,109.99 opposed, a significant shift from previous sentiment that landowners needed to increase the current assessment of $1.21 per acre to $11.19 per acre for groundwater pumpers, $7.42 per acre for both groundwater and surface water users, and $2.66 for surface water-only parcels to keep the State of California from taking over groundwater management at a significantly higher cost. Had the measure passed, parcels without groundwater, such as foothill grazing land, would have paid 53 cents per acre.
“The community has spoken,” said Director Jeff Sutton, after the results were announced.
The actual vote followed months of town hall meetings in which stakeholders questioned CGA’s request for an annual $1.9 million budget for consultants, accounting software, and basinwide AI well monitoring, especially for areas in the Colusa Subbasin not facing groundwater challenges. Concerns about equity and double taxation were central, with calls for fairer calculations, credit for groundwater recharge, and a sunset clause to prevent indefinite fee collection.
The outcome of the vote signaled a strong message from landowners for the CGA board to use fiscal restraint in managing groundwater, as required by the landmark California Sustainable Groundwater Management Act of 2014.
Ballot tabulation took about five hours in the Colusa Industrial Properties conference room, where the Colusa Groundwater Authority board was already engaged in a strategic planning discussion unaware of the outcome unfolding.
Following the vote, Sutton (GCID) emphasized the need for transparency and fiscal responsibility, urging the board to conduct the internal workshop Chairman Jim Wallace had suggested, absent external consultants and with all directors and alternates in attendance, to engage in candid dialogue on demand management, domestic well mitigation, and a more cost-effective operation of the Groundwater Sustainability Agency.
“I think we need to be mindful, more transparent, more responsible with the dollars,” Sutton said.
In response to the overwhelming rejection of the groundwater assessment proposal, the Colusa Groundwater Authority board, on a motion made by Sutton (Glenn-Colusa Irrigation District) seconded by Drew Dirks (Maxwell Irrigation District) voted 4–2 to reduce the existing $1.21 per acre fee to $1, an action that not only acknowledged the community’s clear opposition to the groundwater tax but also signaled a shift toward addressing immediate concerns over groundwater overuse.
The vote underscored mounting pressure on the agency to pursue more accountable management strategies, including the implementation of a metering system, which landowners identified as essential to curbing over pumping and ensuring long-term sustainability.
Director Lewis Bair (Reclamation District 108), who voted in favor of the motion, said the budget going forward will be lean – and sacrifices will need to be made – but the GSA should manage to stay on track with what they are required to deliver to the California Department of Water Resources regarding local groundwater management.
Directors Kate Dunlap (City of Williams) and Frank Nobriga (Colusa County Water District) voted in opposition to lowering the tax.