Strawberry Water Users official explains new contract rules that let shareholders move or convert shares

Sterling Brown, general manager of the Strawberry Water Users Association, told the Genola Town Council the association and the federal government approved a revised contract that changes how the project’s federal water rights may be used.

The association operates delivery from Strawberry Reservoir under a federal contract that supplies 61,000 acre-feet annually. Brown said the new contract, signed in September, does two main things: it allows a shareholder to convert strawberry water from strictly agricultural uses to municipal or industrial (M&I) uses if the shareholder agrees, and it allows shares to be detached from the parcel to which they were historically attached and moved elsewhere within the project boundary — subject to approvals by multiple parties.

"We are under federal contract to deliver from the Strawberry Reservoir 61,000 acre feet of water per year, from March through October," Brown said. "If those 6 entities, 2 shareholders, 2 canal companies, my office, and the federal government all agree to 5 shares of water being moved from here to there, then it can be done. If 1 entity doesn't agree, then it doesn't move."

Brown explained the associations and canal companies established protective rules to avoid wholesale loss of water within communities. For example, High Line Canal Company requires at least a two-acre-foot-per-acre minimum to remain attached in the originating area when shares are transferred, a constraint Brown described as a safeguard for local agriculture.

Council members asked whether Genoa has the distribution infrastructure to take converted M&I water. Brown replied that conversion is feasible in some cases if delivery arrangements between shareholders and the city are mutually resolved. He also said the association and canal companies must confirm they have physical capacity to receive and deliver any transferred shares.

Councilors and residents raised concerns about market pressures from development and data centers that could create incentives to sell shares to municipal users. Brown acknowledged the risk, noting the policy and administrative safeguards are new and subject to change over time.

Brown emphasized the layered approvals required — the transferring shareholder, the receiving canal company, the originating canal company, the association's board and the federal government all must sign off — and said High Line’s current policy requires a two-acre minimum remain in place at origin sites. He also said the association has completed one broad change application with the Bureau of Reclamation to enable shareholder conversions and transfers without requiring each shareholder to file an individual change application.

Council members asked for a future briefing from High Line Canal Company management and noted the need to track whether transfers occur in ways that could affect Genoa’s long-term water availability.