Madera County supervisors OK water meters on new wells

Madera County officials have approved a system to monitor how much water is being used in the county in an effort to stave off the state deciding on its own plan to control the local water supply.

The Madera County Board of Supervisors recently approved monitors being installed on newly constructed wells. The well-pumping issue has become a focus for the county because of the drought. Officials want to know how well pumping is impacting the county’s water table.

The state is also mandating that local agencies have a plan in place or it will impose one. The county already monitors the public systems, but it has not monitored private wells.

District 2 Supervisor David Rogers said he normally opposes such actions because he doesn’t believe in infringing on the property rights of private citizens. However, Rogers said, in this instance he thinks the meters are a necessity.

“I don’t like invading people’s personal property rights, but we have a shared water basin,” Rogers said. “It’s like a speed limit sign: We have a depth gauge for the aquifer and if somebody’s pumping too much they need to slow down.”

Johannes Hoevertsz, Madera County public works director, said a groundwater sustainability agency will be formed in January. Its duty will be to collect water pumping and elevation data, giving the county an idea of the size of the water table problem and some possible solutions to rectify the situation. Hoevertsz said the state has given the county two to three years to collect the data and start to form a plan.

Rogers said he believes the state would have eventually imposed a per-gallon fee on water being pumped from the ground had the Board of Supervisors not taken action.

Hoevertsz said the ordinance will not apply to minor well repairs or rehabilitations.

Hoevertsz said the state and others placed greater emphasis on water issues because of the drought, but recent rains alone will not fix the problem.

“No doubt that having rain has helped, but we need to measure how much water we’re overdrafting,” Hoevertsz said.

This story was originally published December 9, 2014 at 4:28 PM with the headline "Madera County supervisors OK water meters on new wells."