Madera County GSA to seek proposals for 2026 measurement services after growers flag tradeoffs among HydroSat, Land IQ and meters

The Madera County Groundwater Sustainability Agency (GSA) subcommittee on April 1 discussed options for measurement services that underlie the GSA’s groundwater allocation program and staff said it will pursue a request for proposals (RFP) for 2026 and beyond.

Stephanie Nagmanson, director of water and natural resources, said the GSA currently offers three primary measurement options: HydroSat (formerly Erowatch), Land IQ and privately owned flow meters. She told the committee the methods produce broadly similar results within an assumed accuracy range of about 10% or better and that the GSA intends to issue an RFP because current contracts expire at the same time.

Nut graf: Growers and technical speakers urged a public RFP process with vendor interviews and clearer cost‑and‑capability comparisons. They said HydroSat’s near‑real‑time portal is useful for planning, while Land IQ’s four‑to‑six‑week reporting delay and paper reports reduce its usefulness for operational decisions. Many growers said they prefer direct metering but asked for access to meter telemetry and data sharing.

Public commenters emphasized different priorities. Mark Peters, a Madera grower, said earlier adoption of Land IQ in 2022 had limited grower input and warned that Land IQ’s month‑end delay undermines decisionmaking: “With Land IQ, on Oct. 15 we’ll have July data,” he said, adding that HydroSat’s day‑old data is more useful for seasonal planning. Noah Lopez of the Madera Ag Water Association supported public vendor interviews and a mechanism to agendize presentations so growers can weigh combinations of services.

Other commenters and consultants told the committee that Land IQ sometimes overestimates evapotranspiration when it includes large areas that are not being irrigated, and that private meters remain the most precise tool for many operations. Several speakers recommended that the RFP explicitly compare combinations of services and platforms—for example, Land IQ processed by a vendor versus Land IQ plus an online groundwater accounting platform—to show tradeoffs in cost and capabilities.

Nagmanson said staff will draft an RFP, expect more vendor options to respond than currently available, and present a table comparing costs and services to the board. She also recommended public interviews of vendors and said the GSA will solicit grower feedback, including surveys, during the procurement process.

Ending: The committee provided direction to pursue a public RFP and broader outreach; no procurement decision was made at the meeting.