GALT, CA (MPG) - The City Council unanimously approved several measures at its July 21 meeting that address water usage in the city, two dealing with water supply and conservation.

The council adopted a resolution establishing “Sustainable Groundwater Management” fees within the city. The fees are a requirement of Groundwater Sustainability Agencies (GSA) groundwater plans as established by the state through the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) of 2014.

The city of Galt is part of the Cosumnes Groundwater Authority formed in 2021 with six other Cosumnes River Subbasin GSAs such as Galt Irrigation District, Clay Water District and the Amador County Groundwater Management Authority. The groundwater sustainability plans (GSP) must result in sustainable groundwater use within 20 years, with failure to meet this goal resulting in state intervention in groundwater use.

“And that is going to involve mandatory groundwater extraction reporting and pretty exorbitant fees,” Galt Public Works Director Fritz Buchman said. “It’s not a scenario we want, trust me.”

Buchman said the Cosumnes subbasin is roughly 220,000 acres, with roughly 110,000 acre feet total of groundwater extracted annually. Plans in the subbasin call for sustainable use by 2042 through specific projects and management actions that reduce groundwater pumping by approximately 10,000 acre feet.

The SGMA allows agencies to establish fees to cover administrative costs for activities such as investigations, inspections, compliance updates, enforcement and establishing “prudent” groundwater reserves. A study commissioned in 2024 determined the Cosumnes Authority would need $661,500 annually to cover costs of these activities,

According to the report to council, “Costs associated with state-mandated requirements that are unrelated to the amount of groundwater used, $187,000, were allocated equally to all directly groundwater-using residential, commercial, and agricultural parcels, resulting in an annual base charge of $35.59 per parcel.”

Because annual extraction amounts are known, “public water systems are charged an extraction fee of $5.98 per acre foot” which is expected to provide about $29,300 annually. The remaining $445,000 was charged to “approximately 44,500 acres of irrigated agriculture in the subbasin, resulting in an annual fee of $10 per irrigated acre.”

“Just like the bulk of the groundwater is used by ag (agriculture), the bulk of the fee burden went to ag as well,” Buchman said.

In Galt, the fees will apply to 157 parcels and 174.4 acres of irrigated agriculture, resulting in annual revenue of $7,300 for the Authority. The city’s public water system fee will generate another $26,469 annually and will be applied to the water utility.

Buchman said city water customers wouldn’t see any rate increase as the current rates are “sufficient” to cover the Authority fees.

Also at the July 21 meeting, council approved by a 4-0 vote – Councilmember Shawn Farmer was not present – updates to the city’s Urban Water Management Plan and Water Shortage Contingency Plan. The state’s Urban Water Management Planning Act requires water suppliers providing more than 3,000 acre feet annually or with over 3,000 connections to prepare and update these plans every five years.

The city of Galt has 7,974 water service connections and supplied over 4,529 acre feet of potable water in 2025. According to a study by consultant EKI Environment & Water, the water demand is expected to increase to 5,024 acre feet by 2030 and eventually reach 6,646 acre feet by 2050.

Of the 2025 usage, 58% came from single-family homes, with commercial at 19% and multifamily complexes at 9%, while about 11% was “Other (Non-Revenue Water): water not unaccountable for. 

“By 2050, we expect that to increase to up to 60%,” EKI hydrogeologist Kristyn Lindhart said of single-family.

According to the report, demand projections were developed using “projected population and employment growth, planned development, water use demand factors, and estimated future passive water savings.” Lindhart said they projected Galt’s population to grow to approximately 37,800 by 2050.

The report concluded that even with growth there will be no change in groundwater availability and “no supply shortages assumed under any scenario.”

The council also approved a Water Shortage Contingency Plan that lists measures the city would take in the event of a water shortage emergency. These include supply reliability analysis, six standard water shortage stages and response actions, communication with the public and annual water supply and demand assessments.

The council’s final water-related action was to approve a bid award for replacing water mains along several blocks in Old Town. Westrock Engineering was the lowest bid of 10 contractors bidding on the project at just over $2.92 million.

The contract also authorized the city manager to execute a $462,370 contract with Kjeldsen, Sinnock & Neudeck, Inc. for construction management and inspection services on the project. With contingencies, including $438,851 for additional pavement repair, the total cost of the project comes to $4,165,700.

The project is paid for by $4.1 million from the city’s Water Fund and $900,000 from the Water Impact Fee Fund.

Finally, during public comment Galt-Arno Cemetery district manager Belinda Ellis told council that beginning Oct. 1 the cemetery would no longer be open 24 hours a day. Because of “a great deal” of recent vandalism to some graves in the cemetery, Ellis said the decision had been made to restrict cemetery access hours to dawn to dusk.

Ellis said she had spoken to Galt Police Department and was advised this would be the best approach to deal with vandalism.

“I hope this will pass as those who are laid to rest are forgotten,” she said, adding the vandalism to specific graves has left the departed’s friends and family feeling “very raw right now.”