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Fox Canyon adopts Las Posas Valley annual water-right allocations for water year 2025
Summary
The board received staff calculations and approved the Las Posas Valley Basin annual allocation schedule for water year 2025 (Oct. 1, 2025–Sept. 30, 2026); staff said the operating yield remains 40,000 acre-feet pending the basin optimization yield study.
The Fox Canyon Groundwater Management Agency board on Sept. 24 adopted the annual water-right allocation calculations for the Las Posas Valley Basin for water year 2025 (Oct. 1, 2025–Sept. 30, 2026).
Staff presenter Farai Kasseke told the board the allocations were calculated under the formulas in Exhibit D of the LPV adjudication judgment and that the judgment sets an initial operating yield at 40,000 acre-feet. Exhibit C shows the total allocation basis was 41,851 acre-feet, which required a ramp-down to the 40,000-acre-foot operating yield used in the calculations. Staff said the board previously extended the initial operating yield into water year 2025 and that this year’s calculations are essentially the same as last year’s, except for ownership changes that affected a few line items.
Before completing the calculations staff contacted holders with conditional domestic allocations to confirm whether they met the judgment conditions; Hypericum Land Company and Hypericum Interests LLC replied that conditions were not yet met and retained the right to request allocations in the future. Del Norte Water Company did not respond; staff therefore prepared allocations assuming those conditional allocations were not available.
Staff referred a draft of the allocations to the PAC (per the judgment’s requirement for committee consultation) and posted the draft online for review; PAC issued its endorsement on Sept. 4. Board members asked operational questions about how allocations translate to billing; staff clarified allocations apply to the upcoming water year (Oct. 1–Sept. 30) and billing is based on the allocations for that water year, not on past use. Board members discussed potential confusion created by different naming conventions (the judgment’s treatment of the year versus Watermaster references) and asked staff to add calendar dates (e.g., “water year 2025 = Oct. 1, 2025–Sept. 30, 2026”) to the allocation documents and website.
A board member moved to adopt the water-right allocation calculations for water year 2025; the motion carried on unanimous voice vote. Staff said the posted allocations will be updated with carryover and overuse adjustments once semiannual extraction statements are reconciled later in the year.
Board members and staff also flagged outreach items: clear dates on the website, clearer billing language so users understand that changes apply to future billing cycles, and finance-committee review of communication strategies to reduce later confusion.
