California Water News Daily Your Source For Water News in California
West Side Irrigation District (WSDI) and Byron Bethany Irrigation District (BBID), both located in Tracy, have discussed a potential merger over the last month. Talks began because both irrigation districts are struggling to meet water supply demands during the severe drought.
If the merger is completed, one 36,000 acre district would be created from West Side’s 6,000 acres and Byron Bethany’s 30,000 acres.
“The state for the last couple of years has beaten us up pretty good, so this offer came along to merge with BBID, and the time has come to explore the possibility of a merger with BBID,” Jack Alvarez, president of WSID told the Tracy Press.
When representatives from both districts met, some stakeholders felt having two irrigation districts, two board of directors, two staffs and two sets of legal advisers was duplicating the same efforts. The merger would eliminate that duplicated effort.
Currently, both WSDI and BBID are undergoing separate hearings with the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) for unauthorized diversion of water.
