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Election Funding McMullin Flood Capture Expansion Project Successfully Passes; Board Awards Construction Contract

The election to fund construction of the McMullin On-Farm Flood Capture Expansion Project successfully passed, with more than 80% of ballots received voting in favor of the $32.85 per-acre assessment. The ballots were counted following the close of the public hearing on June 3, 2026. 

To move toward construction, the McMullin Groundwater Sustainability Agency (MAGSA) put the project out to bid. The first round of bids came in over the project budget. The MAGSA staff worked with project engineers to reevaluate the project plans with a second round of bids coming within budget.

The MAGSA Board awarded the contract for almost $23 million to W.M. Lyles Co. at the September 2nd Board meeting. 

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MAGSA Team Receives Association of California Water Agency Outreach and Emissary Awards

Each year, the Association of California Water Agencies (ACWA) recognizes the most active ACWA member agencies in each of its regions throughout the state when it comes to advocacy at the state and federal level. MAGSA is honored to announce that we have received the 2025 Outreach Award for our region at this year’s ACWA Fall Conference and Expo in San Diego, California. This award recognizes outstanding efforts to support sustainable water policy and regional collaboration. 

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Groundwater Pumping Estimates will be Eliminated with Installation of Meters by MAGSA Landowners

To quote MAGSA’s General Manager Matt Hurley, “Estimates and Educated Guesses are tools of fools when attempting to hone the efficient consumption of either water or energy in a groundwater-only groundwater sustainability agency. A variation in data reliability of even five percent can skew results by a wide margin. In irrigation groundwater pumping, management and field application, precise reliable, and temporally relevant data provide the only effective means to achieve the optimal efficiency for either resource.” In other words, MAGSA can’t afford to risk its future with estimates or educated guesses.

With the help of our very motivated landowners, we have done the homework, and we know there are +/- 1,200 agricultural wells located within the MAGSA boundary. As of this post, approximately 1,000 of those wells have been equipped with the requisite meters, telemetry and monitoring contracts and are beginning to report real data into the MAGSA database. As a bonus, most of those landowners have received rebates for their participation by way of a $2.8 million grant from the Bureau of Reclamation

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Aquaterra Water Bank Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) Available for Review

A Notice of Availability (NOA) was prepared to notify agencies and interested parties that MAGSA has prepared a Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) for the Aquaterra Water Bank Project. The DEIR evaluates the potential environmental impacts of the Aquaterra Water Bank Project and alternatives.  

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