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Madera County committee hears seven proposals for satellite measurement and groundwater accounting platforms
Summary
Vendors including HydroSat, LandIQ, ESA, 4 Creeks, Davids Engineering/h2oTech, MLJ Environmental and United Tracking Systems presented measurement methods and grower portals in response to the county's RFP. Staff said public questions will be accepted in writing and responses posted July 15; a grower questionnaire will follow.
MADERA COUNTY, Calif. — The Madera County Groundwater Sustainability Agency (GSA) Committee heard seven vendor presentations July 1 for satellite evapotranspiration measurement services and online groundwater accounting platforms as part of a measurement-methods RFP process.
The presentations, each limited to five to seven minutes, described providers' approaches to daily or near-daily evapotranspiration (ET) measurement, field- and parcel-level reporting, and grower-facing portals that could integrate into the County's existing data management system (DMS). Staff characterized the item as informational and said no committee action was required at the meeting.
Why it matters: The GSA is seeking tools to support SGMA implementation by providing accurate, timely estimates of consumptive use and by giving growers and the GSA a platform for water accounting, meter appeals and billing. Committee members and growers said accuracy, vendor interoperability with the county DMS, and grower outreach are priorities.
What vendors described - HydroSat (presented by Brett Blom): A remote-sensing company that operates its own satellites and provides daily ET and ETAW (evapotranspiration applied water) at field and parcel scales, downloadable tables, and a grower portal. Blom said the company offers access for all Madera County growers and listed a per-acre price of $0.83 with volume discounts. - LandIQ: Emphasized ground-truthing with surface renewal stations and long-term calibration against on-the-ground flux stations and grower meter records. LandIQ described monthly and new daily products, crop maps, field-level precipitation from gauges, and unlimited grower assistance; it provided a summary cost slide. - Environmental Science Associates (ESA): Presented an open-source Groundwater Accounting Platform the firm helps configure and host. ESA emphasized that the underlying code is public domain, enabling cost sharing and community development among GSAs. - BasinSafe (4 Creeks): Demonstrated an integrated portal including landowner dashboards, allocations, parcels and well/meter management, ET visualization, billing and a demo login. 4 Creeks provided an estimated one-time configuration fee ($57,500) and onboarding and an annual support estimate ($45,000/year). - Davids Engineering / h2oTech: Presented a county-focused portal (h2o flow), stressing local experience, independent ingestion of multiple measurement sources (including HydroSat and LandIQ), and spatial interfaces for allocation tracking. Team members noted they currently support the county's existing allocation platform. - Watermark (MLJ Environmental): Showed an agnostic, low-bandwidth-friendly portal designed for outreach and grower onboarding, able to ingest multiple ET providers and to support future features such as a digital water market. MLJ provided year-1 setup and multi-year pricing bands. - United Tracking Systems: Described a tailored, fully managed water-accounting dashboard that supports multiple GSAs under one login, meter appeals, fallow declarations, billing and integrations with accounting software; presenters said the system is already used by several GSAs and thousands of grower accounts.
Process, outreach and next steps Staff (Stephanie, Director of Water and Natural Resources) said proposals were solicited via the RFP, targeted outreach, an eblast and an article in Water Rights; seven proposals were received. The committee will accept written questions from the public to ensure all respondents receive the same queries. Staff said questions could be placed in a box at the meeting or emailed to wnr@maderacounty.com; responses will be posted to maderacountywater.com/measurement by July 15. A grower input questionnaire will be mailed and online, with responses due at the end of the month; staff said they will return with a recommendation in September after additional committee updates in August and September.
Public and stakeholder feedback Grower representatives and Madera Ag Water Association said the county should include the accounting platform as well as measurement because many growers rely on flow meters and may not make decisions based only on satellite products. Commenters emphasized accuracy, the ability to incorporate meter data, and clear outreach and onboarding materials for growers.
Staff said proposals vary in how they would integrate with the county's existing DMS and recommended allowing vendors to provide a detailed design after the county shares DMS requirements and sample data.
Ending The committee did not take action. Presenters were invited to remain for informal conversations following the presentations and for the committee's recess. Staff reiterated timelines for written questions and the grower questionnaire and said further decisions would be scheduled for upcoming committee meetings.
