Zone 7 Board Meeting: Budget Adoption, an LLNL Grant, and Water Transfers
The Zone 7 Board of Directors holds its regular meeting tonight, June 17, 2026, with closed session at 6:00 p.m. and open session at 7:00 p.m. Here is what is on the agenda.
The two-year budget comes up for adoption
Item 14 is the formal adoption of the two-year operating and capital budget for fiscal years 2026-27 and 2027-28, the budget the board workshopped on May 12. Projected revenues rise from about $174 million to $184 million across the two years, with 4.5% treated water rate increases assumed in each. All reserves remain fully funded and the agency expects to maintain its AAA credit rating. If adopted, the budget takes effect July 1, 2026.
A grant partnership with Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Item 12 asks the board to authorize applying for a Bureau of Reclamation WaterSMART Applied Science Grant, with Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory as lead applicant. It builds on a three-year LLNL study from 2022 to 2025 that used isotope tracing to map groundwater recharge in the basin. The new work would track how PFAS moves through the groundwater and enhance the agency's Decision Support Tool. Total project cost is about $835,000, with $375,000 requested from the grant and $460,000 in matching funds.
This is the kind of partnership the Tri-Valley should be making more of. A national laboratory in our own valley, applying its expertise to the two questions that matter most for our groundwater: where recharge water comes from, and how contaminants move through the basin.
Adopting the 2025 Urban Water Management Plan
After a public hearing at the May 20 meeting, the 2025 Urban Water Management Plan and Water Shortage Contingency Plan appear on tonight's consent calendar for adoption. The plan is a state-required, five-year update that maps water supplies and demands through 2045.
Two water transfer items
Item 15 proposes a ten-year water transfer agreement with five Westside districts (Belridge, Berrenda Mesa, Lost Hills, Wheeler Ridge-Maricopa, and Dudley Ridge). It is structured as a hedge for wet years, letting Zone 7 move surplus supply when State Water Project allocations are high instead of risking spill.
Item 16 authorizes water transfers for water year 2026, up to 8,000 acre-feet this year and up to 12,000 acre-feet in future years, with the 2026 State Water Project allocation at 45% and the groundwater basin full at 106,400 acre-feet in storage.
Also on the agenda
The board will hold a public hearing on recruitment and retention under AB 2561 (Item 13), consider updates to the agency's wastewater and nutrient management plans for septic systems (Item 17), and adopt commendations for Directors Dawn Benson, Catherine Brown, and Dennis Gambs.
Meeting materials are posted on the Zone 7 Water Agency website. This post previews the agenda. Outcomes will follow once the board votes.
